Manila City Mayor Francisco “Isko” Moreno Domagoso inaugurated the new six-storey building of Aurora A. Quezon Elementary School in San Andres, Malate, delivering 68 fully air-conditioned classrooms and modern facilities to one of Manila’s oldest public schools.
The new structure, which sits on a 2,596-square-meter lot with a total floor area of 11,221 square meters, was completed in two phases: the first in December 2023 and the second in August 2026, under the city government’s continuing investment in public education infrastructure.
Domagoso framed the project as part of the city’s long-term commitment to address the future needs of Manila’s growing student population, saying the decision to build now is both practical and strategic.
“To build today is cheaper. To build today is better.”
“To build today is cheaper. To build today is better,” the mayor said, “so that the next generation, the next sets of teachers and students, with regard to the ratio, is now universally acceptable, more modern, more beautiful, more decent.”
“Who would have thought na isa sa mga estudyante ninyo ay pwedeng maging mayor ng Maynila?” he said. “I’m a product of the public education system, full-blooded.”
“Who would have thought na isa sa mga estudyante ninyo ay pwedeng maging mayor ng Maynila?”
Beyond classrooms, the building houses a computer room, library, Madrasah room, Alternative Learning System room, faculty rooms, a canteen, a clinic, and two elevator units, among other facilities.
Domagoso used the occasion to speak directly to students about the city’s education roadmap, citing the upcoming completion of Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila’s (PLM) new Allied Health Sciences building near Quirino Avenue and Roxas Boulevard, which he said will expand medical and allied health enrollment from 300 to as many as 5,000 students.
“The City of Manila will provide it for free,” he told students, referring to courses in medicine, nursing, and allied health sciences at the new facility being built beside the new Hospital ng Maynila.
Aurora A. Quezon Elementary School, officially named on September 28, 1951 during the administration of Mayor Manuel dela Fuente, has served the Malate community for over seven decades and stands among the city’s top-performing public schools.
The inauguration is the latest in a series of new and modern public school buildings the Mayor has initiated since he became mayor of the nation’s capital.
Under Domagoso’s first term as mayor, he initiated the construction of the new 10-storey building for Manila Science High School, featuring 158 fully air-conditioned classrooms, a library, an auditorium, a basketball gym with roof-deck sports area, a canteen, and five elevators, built at a cost of ₱1.3 billion.
He also initiated the construction of the new 10-storey fully air-conditioned building at Rosauro Almario Elementary School in Tondo, expanding capacity for students in one of Manila’s most densely populated districts.
The city is also pressing forward with the construction of the new 10-storey building of Ramon Magsaysay High School in Sampaloc. The new structure will include a gymnasium, auditorium, four science laboratories, a library and e-library, outdoor sports facilities, and two SPED rooms for children with special needs.
