A total of 12,750 sets of school packs, consisting of notebooks, papers and pens, were distributed by the City Government of Tagum to the scholars of the local government and children belonging to the indigenous peoples and Muslim communities on Friday.
A political prisoner who is also a mother of a seven-month old baby wished she would be freed during her birthday on Sunday.
A lawmaker said over two million school-age children, or almost 10 percent between the ages of 5 and 15, will not be going to school as the new school year opens on Monday.
Partylist lawmaker Neri Colmenares of Bayan Muna urged House leadership to immediately approve the bill that would provide for higher pension of the Social Security System (SSS).
Children rights alliance, Save our Schools Network, will protest in front of Department of Education national office on Monday to denounce the closure of indigenous peoples schools in Davao del Norte.