Supply center’s role in the government’s school building project

Title

Creator

Garcia, Alfredo C.

Language

English

Source

The Philippines Herald March 14, 1970

Year

1970

Subject

Armed Forces of the Philippines

Philippines. Armed Forces -- Supplies and stores

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

Supply Center’s Role In the Government’s Schoolbuiiding Project Since population ex plosion caught up with the- Philippines, the countrv has always been faced with a shortage of schoolrooms and the problem of turning away thousands of students for lack of accommoda tion. When President Mar cos took over the helm of the government, he gave this problem the highest priority with the launch ing of a massive infra ct ructure program in volving a bridge-and-road building project and the mass construction of schoolbuildings. To acce lerate the construction of these schoolrooms, the Chief Executive tapped the talents and resources of the Armed Forces of the Philippines to ioin hands with the civilian workers. One of the govern mental agencies given the task of manufactur ing the prefabricated tvpe of school houses was the AFP Supply Center which has since embark ed on the manufacture and production of some of the items for the armed services. On February of 1967, a now section was creat ed which was charged with the mass manufac ture of the prefabricated school building. Sgt. An drew C. Macabinta. act ing chief of the Manu facturing and Fabrica tion branch of the DME, wo<; designated supervi sor The project was start ed by skilled machinists ond mechanics borrowed from other branches. Special devices were de signed and manufactured to give impetus to the earlv completion of the project. Machines also wpvp borrowed. Development and Progress As the project gained momentum, more work ers were hired. But with the return of the skilled workers to their sections, there was a problem of a drop in quality in the products. This was solved with the 'hiring of more skilled workers, like qua lity control inspectors and supervisors who trained the new workers. Soon the section not on ly increased its rate of By Alfredo C. Garcia production but even came up with an improv ed quality manufacture. The initial production goal was 20 units a day on the three structural components: purlins, rafters and columns. The standard working period was soon changed into two shifts and later in to three shifts with pro duction continuing round the clock. To help Macabinta in AFPSC Comes Up with the Troop Hutment One of the latest to come out of the AFP Supply derri military billet is expected to be the standard Center is the portable “troop hutment,” made of barracks of AFP military personnel. Workers (top galvanized iron, aluminum and lumber. This mo- photo) sort out materials prior to construction. the project, Major Fidel Samson, then chief of the control branch be came project manager. Mrs. Narcisa O. Santos of the Directorate of Comptrollership was al so tapped to help out. As the project kept on ex panding, a new building was erected to house separately the President ial schoolbuiiding pro ject. By the end of 196S, the section moved to its new quarters. Accomplishments During the first year of operation, it turned out 2,400 units of the three-rbom type. With the implementation of the three-shift period, production shot up and doubled to 5.400 units at the end of the vear. The section, after meet ing the needs for school houses of the country, soon branched out to other projects. Additional Projects Fresh from their triumphs in the mass production of prefabri cated schoolhouses, the section went on to tackle the housing pro blem of the AFP. They came up with the pro duction of the “troop hutment” which was patterned after the Mar cos-type schoolhouses. In its first year of pro duction the section fi nished 112 units in addi tion to another 1.092 units of the Marcos pre fabs schoolhouses. Seve ral extension sheds were built within the com pound with another side walk shed, also construc ted. The pavement from the gate to its shops was also cemented. At the same time, twelve jobs involving the straighten ing of dented compon ents, conversion work and repairs of the Repa rations (Z-type) school houses were accomplish ed. The section soon built a training center build ing The AFP’s general headquarters golf club had one of the sheds re paired bv the Section. To meet the recreational needs of its employes, a recreation building was built. The section has proven equal to the task of pro viding a schoolroom for every province, town or barrio in need. With the Section girded for the challenges of the coming decade, the Section ex pects to eaual if not sur pass its accomplishments this year. Page 6 AFP SUPPLY CENTER SUPPLEMENT March 14, 1970

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