VALENCIA, Bohol – Ms. Yurie Mukaigawa, 2nd Secretary, Embassy of Japan, personally turned over on March 18, 2026 the completed 4-classroom building in barangay Anoyon of this bustling town assisted by Mayor Engr. Dionisio Neil A. Balite, PhD to the representatives of the Department of Education Bohol schools division office.
DepEd representatives were OIC Asst. Schools Division Superintendent, Dr. Neil Mchael G. Olaivar and Valencia District Supervisor Cerlito Romero and teachers of Anoyon High School.
The Japanese diplomat said that the 4-classroom building is worth P5 million, including toilets annex to it, under the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP) of the Japanese government.
How is this possible? Mayor Balite said that sometime few months after his assumption to office as local chief executive in 2022, he went to Manila and tried his luck to approach the Japanese embassy for assistance for the construction of a school building for the now senior high students of said barangay. Through the help of his older sister, Flor Delia Balite Fernandez, a former Monbusho scholar in Japan, the Japanese government did not hesitate to extend help.
After the ocular survey in the area by the Japanese representatives and necessary documentation and approval of the DepEd for school’s expansion in housing the senior high students, the Japanese authority gave the green light for the construction of the said building.
In her short speech, Mukaigawa said that providing support is to ensure every student here has access to quality education, saying that education has the power to transform by supporting high school.
She shared her memories while in school that not just study hard but also making friends. She pins hope that students here experience the same.
Mayor Balite thanked the Embassy of Japan for its invaluable support in making this vision a reality. (Ric Obedencio)
