FFCCCII Video Contest Honors Champions With 120,000 Pesos Each; Barrio Schools Program Has Donated 6,500+ School Buildings in 65 Years
The awards ceremony of the 'A Classroom for Every Dream' short-video contest, organized by the Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FFCCCII), was held on October 24 at the Luxent Hotel in Quezon City. FFCCCII President Victor Lim and Philippine Education Secretary Sonny Angara presented the awards, with each of the two category champions receiving 120,000 pesos.
The contest was themed on the Operation Barrio Schools program, founded by the FFCCCII in 1961, and invited entrants to tell the program's story through short videos. The two category champions were Jhon Henry Arquileta of Gapan City, Nueva Ecija, and Ramil Carmona Salon Jr. of Davao City. The contest offered 120,000 pesos for champions, 80,000 pesos for second place and 50,000 pesos for third place in each category, with a total prize pool of 850,000 pesos.
Operation Barrio Schools has now run for 65 years since 1961. Through the program, the FFCCCII has donated more than 6,500 school buildings to public schools across the Philippines, most of them two-classroom buildings, providing more than 13,000 classrooms in total. The federation counts more than 170 Filipino-Chinese chambers of commerce among its members and is one of the largest Chinese-Filipino business organizations in the country.
Speaking at the ceremony, Victor Lim said that investing in education is investing in the future of the nation. In his remarks, Secretary Angara said that behind every classroom stand the stories of thousands of students it has helped.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 菲律宾巴科洛德市一所公立小学的校舍（资料图）。CC BY-SA 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / A public elementary school building in Bacolod, Philippines (file photo). CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
