The students of diwalwal area are looking forward to be an honor student for they know that students who will excel will receive gold medals and it is not just an ordinary gold plated medal. It is a true gold medal from the gold miners of diwalwal area. The programmed started in the year 2003. Mt. Diwalwal barangay captain Franco Tito said that his barangay is now on its 6th year of awarding real gold medals to outstanding students.
“It is one way of encouraging our students to study harder,” Tito said.
The students are children of the over 50,000 small-scale miners who have made their living since way back in the 1980s when mining operations started in Mt. Diwalwal.
The gold medals are said to cost as much as P11,000 each these days with the prevailing prices of gold in the world market.
“The gold medals used to cost only P6,000 when we started the program in 2003 but it has now reached P11,000 each,” Tito said.
The gold for the medals was said to be sourced from Mt. Diwalwal and made of 70 percent gold and 30 percent silver.
He explained that the gold medals were actually made out of donations from ball mill operators as well as other businessmen in the area.
“Our priority has always been education. We even allocate as much as P600,000 for education in our barangay,” Tito said.
Tito said that there may have been honor students who could have sold the gold medals, especially during hard times.
“They may sell it when they do not have money. But it could also be that when a pupil gets many gold medals, say as many as 10 medals, then these could be used for the pupil’s education later in college,” Tito said.
The barangay chief said that through the award system, they would be able to inculcate in the minds of the young children that education is always better than gold.
“We always emphasize to them the importance of education,” Tito added. when far barangays knew that they are giving real gold, some of the students transferred to the said school hoping that they could also get real gold if they excel.
“It is one way of encouraging our students to study harder,” Tito said.
The students are children of the over 50,000 small-scale miners who have made their living since way back in the 1980s when mining operations started in Mt. Diwalwal.
The gold medals are said to cost as much as P11,000 each these days with the prevailing prices of gold in the world market.
“The gold medals used to cost only P6,000 when we started the program in 2003 but it has now reached P11,000 each,” Tito said.
The gold for the medals was said to be sourced from Mt. Diwalwal and made of 70 percent gold and 30 percent silver.
He explained that the gold medals were actually made out of donations from ball mill operators as well as other businessmen in the area.
“Our priority has always been education. We even allocate as much as P600,000 for education in our barangay,” Tito said.
Tito said that there may have been honor students who could have sold the gold medals, especially during hard times.
“They may sell it when they do not have money. But it could also be that when a pupil gets many gold medals, say as many as 10 medals, then these could be used for the pupil’s education later in college,” Tito said.
The barangay chief said that through the award system, they would be able to inculcate in the minds of the young children that education is always better than gold.
“We always emphasize to them the importance of education,” Tito added. when far barangays knew that they are giving real gold, some of the students transferred to the said school hoping that they could also get real gold if they excel.
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