Apa yang Anda perlukan untuk mendapatkan pendidikan yang baik?

Bagi siswa yang tinggal di Sitio Dam dan Sitio Bayabas, hal ini berarti harus melewati jalan raya dan berjalan kaki selama hampir satu jam untuk mencapai sekolah mereka.

Selama bertahun-tahun, para siswa telah berjuang untuk pergi ke sekolah mereka terutama selama musim topan. Cuaca yang tidak menentu dan air setinggi leher akan menghalangi akses siswa ke Sekolah Terpadu Armenia dan Sekolah Dasar Bendungan Sitio yang mengakibatkan rendahnya tingkat kehadiran dan prestasi akademik.

Dengan bantuan Aboitiz Foundation Inc. dan Pilmico Animal Nutrition Corporation, perjalanan yang biasanya memakan waktu hampir satu jam kini hanya membutuhkan waktu 10 menit setelah pergantian jembatan sepanjang 200 meter yang menghubungkan dua lokasi di Armenia, Kota Tarlac. Pada pertengahan Desember lalu, pembangunan jembatan ini telah selesai dan memberikan manfaat bagi lebih dari 4.000 penduduk di komunitas lokal Armenia.

Roderic dela Cruz, Asisten Wakil Presiden PANC untuk Operasi Pabrik Penggemukan Sapi, salah satu pendukung proyek ini mengatakan: "Pembangunan jembatan Armenia merupakan simbol kemitraan kami yang terus berkembang antara komunitas-komunitas ini dan Pilmico. Kami merasa terhormat dapat bermitra dengan Anda untuk memajukan bisnis dan masyarakat bersama-sama."

Hon. Carlos Castaneda, Kapten Barangay Armenia mengungkapkan: "Tahun ini dimulai dengan sangat baik bagi kami dan warga desa kami. Kami tidak perlu lagi memutar jalan raya hanya untuk menyeberangi Bendungan Sitio dan Sitio Bayabas. Kami berterima kasih kepada semua orang yang telah membantu membangun jembatan ini.
Open in

Sementara itu, Aboitiz Foundation Inc. Wakil Presiden Pertama dan Chief Operating Officer Maribeth Marasigan mengatakan: "Bagi sebagian orang, jembatan ini mungkin terlihat seperti jembatan biasa yang menghubungkan Bendungan Sitio dan Sitio Bayabas. Namun bagi banyak orang, jembatan ini menghubungkan kehidupan, mata pencaharian, dan impian, terutama para siswa di sekolah-sekolah di sekitarnya. Sungguh melegakan mengetahui bahwa kita telah bersama-sama menciptakan komunitas yang lebih aman, bahwa anak-anak tidak perlu lagi membolos saat ketinggian air sungai meningkat, atau bahwa komunitas Anda tidak lagi terisolasi saat hujan lebat. "

Pertanyaan yang Sering Diajukan

How does this project illustrate Pilmico’s presence and commitment in its host communities in Tarlac?
Pilmico operates significant feedmill operations in Tarlac, making the province a core part of its production infrastructure. The Armenia bridge project demonstrates that Pilmico’s relationship with Tarlac extends beyond the factory gate to encompass the broader community of workers, families, and residents who live nearby. Investing in community infrastructure that has no direct commercial return — but materially improves the daily lives of thousands of residents — reflects a conception of community partnership that treats shared geography as a basis for shared responsibility.

What physical infrastructure did Aboitiz Foundation and Pilmico build in Armenia, Tarlac?
Aboitiz Foundation and Pilmico Animal Nutrition Corporation completed construction of a 200-meter bridge connecting Sitio Dam and Sitio Bayabas in Armenia, Tarlac City in mid-December 2017. The bridge directly benefits over 4,000 residents in the local community of Armenia. Its most immediate educational impact was on students who previously had to walk nearly an hour around the highway to reach school — a journey now reduced to approximately 10 minutes.

What was the educational problem the bridge was designed to solve?
Students in Sitio Dam and Sitio Bayabas faced a chronic access barrier to their schools — Armenia Integrated School and Sitio Dam Elementary School. The absence of a direct river crossing meant students had to circumnavigate the highway, a journey of nearly an hour each way. During typhoon season and periods of heavy rain, neck-high river water made even the long walk impossible — resulting in poor school attendance and declining academic performance. The bridge addressed the root physical barrier to consistent attendance.

Who spoke at the bridge turnover and what did they say about its significance?
PANC Assistant VP for Feedmill Operations Roderic dela Cruz described the Armenia bridge as a symbol of Pilmico’s growing partnership with the community, affirming the company’s commitment to advancing business and communities together. Aboitiz Foundation FVP and COO Maribeth Marasigan described the bridge as connecting not just two land areas but lives, livelihoods, and dreams — particularly for students of the nearby schools. Barangay Captain Carlos Castaneda expressed relief that residents would no longer need to take the long highway route and that communities would no longer be isolated during heavy rains.

Why is infrastructure investment like this considered an education intervention?
Access is a prerequisite for attendance, and attendance is a prerequisite for learning outcomes. When students cannot reliably reach school due to physical barriers — river crossings, flooding, distance — the quality of the school building and the capability of the teachers become irrelevant. A bridge that reduces a one-hour journey to ten minutes and eliminates weather-dependent access barriers directly removes one of the most fundamental obstacles to educational attainment in underserved rural communities. Infrastructure investment of this kind is recognized internationally as a high-impact education intervention.