A dedication to better learning spaces and greater opportunities for young learners
A Moment of Progress: TVIRD Balabag IEC Senior Specialist JM Cenia looks back with Principal Mercy on the many moments they have shared while working together to improve the facilities of Depore Elementary School through the company’s Social Development and Management Program (SDMP).Bayog, Zamboanga del Sur / August 2026 – When Ma’am Mercy D. Sutacio assumed the principalship of Depore Elementary School (DES) in August 2023, she stepped into a school with needs that were visible and immediate. Classrooms needed repairs, facilities were limited, and a growing number of learners was placing greater strain on spaces already struggling to accommodate them.
Still, Sutacio saw a school worth investing in—a community with teachers willing to persevere, parents ready to help, and children whose aspirations deserved a better place to take root.
The school she saw possible
Over the next three years, that belief was met with a collective effort that gradually transformed the school. Classrooms were repaired, learning spaces expanded, and facilities improved. Beyond the physical changes, these efforts gave teachers better spaces in which to work and learners an environment where they could study, participate, and feel supported.
A significant part of this progress came through the partnership between DES and TVI Resource Development Philippines Inc. (TVIRD) through the company’s Social Development and Management Program (SDMP). From 2023 to 2025, TVIRD’s SDMP assistance reached approximately ₱3.6 million, supporting classroom repairs, a multipurpose hall and kiosk, school supplies and equipment, reading materials, water tanks, a perimeter fence, feeding programs, and other learning facilities.
The partnership continued to respond as the school’s needs evolved. In 2025, TVIRD support helped provide an expanded multipurpose hall, gender-responsive comfort rooms, additional classroom space, and a Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) office with clinic. Each addressed practical needs—from creating more appropriate spaces for school activities to strengthening health, safety, and emergency preparedness.
The institution she helped transform
At Depore, where limited resources must stretch across many priorities, such investments can have an impact far beyond their immediate purpose. A repaired classroom gives teachers a more conducive space to focus on lessons. Reading resources open more opportunities for learners to discover and learn. Feeding programs help children come to class better prepared, while a clinic and DRRM office strengthen the school’s ability to respond when learners need care.
For Sutacio, however, the most meaningful transformation has extended beyond infrastructure. “I am more proud of the culture I have built,” she said, referring to the stronger relationships that have grown among teachers, parents, learners, and stakeholders. Teachers have been able to work with greater ease, parents have become more engaged, and learners have shown greater motivation to come to school.
And for TVIRD, the company became more in touch with the needs of the institution through its continuous engagement with Principal Mercy.
The organization she shaped through leadership
Her commitment to that community is rooted in her own understanding of what education can mean. Coming from a large family that experienced financial hardship, Sutacio learned early that education could open opportunities that circumstances might otherwise curtail. She entered the profession hoping to help children, especially those with fewer advantages, believing that where they begin does not have to determine where they can go.
That belief shaped the way she led Depore. She understood that children need spaces where they feel safe and supported, teachers need an environment that allows them to do their work well, and parents and community members need to feel that they have a place in their children’s education.
The school she strengthened through partnership
This is where TVIRD’s partnership becomes particularly meaningful. Through sustained support guided by identified needs, the company helped DES strengthen not only its physical environment but also its capacity to provide a more supportive learning experience. The partnership shows how sustained community investment can create improvements that remain useful long after a project is completed.
The work continues even as Sutacio prepares to leave. In 2026, three classrooms were repaired, while school feeding activities during the first two quarters continued to support learners’ health and readiness to learn.
The school she leaves behind
Soon, Ma’am Mercy will turn over the school’s leadership. She leaves behind more than completed projects: a school with more suitable learning spaces, facilities that better respond to its needs, and partnerships that have expanded what the community can provide for its learners.
For Sutacio, her chapter at Depore may be coming to a close, but what was built during her tenure will remain. The school she entered in 2023 had many needs. The school she leaves in 2026 has more tools, stronger partnerships, and greater room to grow.
In that transformation lies a legacy built together—a principal who saw beyond the school’s limitations and believed in what it could become, and a partner that helped shape what it could be. Today, that vision lives not only in repaired classrooms and improved facilities, but in the children who now have more space, support, and opportunity to learn, grow, and imagine what comes next.
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