A multi-purpose teen center building will soon rise at Iloilo National High School, paving the way to champion youth development and psychosocial support programs of Iloilo province.
Financed through the Iloilo Provincial Government’s Special Education Fund (SEF), the two-story teen center building and its equipment amounting to almost P12 million is the first infrastructure teen center project of the province.
Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr., who led the recent groundbreaking ceremony, said the building will house the provincial government’s initiatives on adolescent health and youth development program (AHYDP) and Program for the Resilience of Iloilo in Mind and Emotion (PRIME).
“We are not only concerned with the education of students within the four corners of the room. We are very concerned with their social life and psychosocial health,” Gov. Defensor said.
The Provincial Population Office, which implements the teen center project, has trained guidance counselor and teen center coordinator who will manage the building along with the peer helpers.
The building will also complement the localization of Republic Act No. 11206 or the Career Guidance and Counseling Act which Defensor authored when he was
then congressman, and the voter’s education program which are both anchored in the Bulig Eskwela Sang Probinsya (BES Probins) Program.
Meanwhile, INHS Principal Delorah Cecilia Fantillo thanked the provincial government for its support in improving the well-being of students by “decreasing the incident of teenage pregnancy and early marriages and addressing psychosocial issues and concerns.”
To note, a total of 96 teen centers are operating in the province.
The provincial government has allocated a budget worth P35 million this year for the construction of teen center buildings in 10 secondary schools in Iloilo.AAL/LMLE/PIA Iloilo/Capitol PR
