MARAWI CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 18, 2011) – The Philippine Army’s 103rd Infantry Brigade donated some 300 chairs for six Islamic schools in the southern province of Lanao del Sur on Mindanao Island, officials said Friday.
Officials said the donation was part of a humanitarian program in support to the aspiration of local spiritual leaders in molding a generation of ‘Maranaos’ who are pious with a fervent religious foundation.
Maranaos refer to the local residents of the province.
Major Abdullah Mocsana, a local army spokesman, said the donated chairs were made from confiscated illegally-cut lumber in Lanao del Sur, one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region.
“It has to be noted that the Armed Forces of the Philippines is designated under Executive Order 23 as a member of the Anti-Illegal Logging Task Force. Confiscation (of the illegal lumber) was in response to the request of the local Department of Environment and Natural Resources officers to stop the rampant cutting of trees in the Lanao Lake watershed area which threatens the water source,” he said.
The teachers and students of the schools praised the army for its support. (With a report from Merlyn Manos)
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