A new two-storey, 10-classroom building has ended shifting classes for Grade 9 students at Iloilo City National High School (ICNHS), the city's largest public high school with around 6,500 students. Security Bank Foundation, Inc. (SBFI) turned over the building in September.
For Grade 9 students, the impact was immediate. “The classrooms are specifically useful for the Grade 9 learners so we no longer have to do shifting classes,” ICNHS principal Alpha Java said.
Iloilo City Mayor Raisa Maria Lourdes S. Treñas-Chu said the project could serve as a model for faster local school construction. “I called our engineers and asked, ‘Pwede ba ang structure natin kagaya ng Security Bank? Maganda na, ang bilis pa.’ Our city needs more classrooms, and we hope we can deliver them as fast as Security Bank. We want to apply the same technology to our school projects,” she said.
The project also shows how public- and private-sector organizations can work together to address classroom shortages. Under its Build a School, Build a Nation program, SBFI funded and managed construction; A.C. Steel Industries supplied steel materials; Signify Philippines donated lights, switches, and outlets; and LBC Express, through the LBC Hari ng Padala Foundation, subsidized delivery of SBFI-provided materials. The Iloilo City government provided backfill and support for electrical loads and lines, while the Department of Education supplied classroom furniture.
SBFI Chairman Rafael Simpao, Jr. said partnerships are essential to expanding access to quality education and encouraged more organizations to support similar initiatives.
“But perseverance alone is not enough. We have learned that lasting change requires partnerships. That is why our journey has been holistic and multisectoral, because education is not the work of one institution alone, but of an entire community working together,” Simpao said.
The Iloilo project is the first of eight school buildings SBFI plans to donate in 2026. By year-end, the Foundation expects its total contribution since it began building classrooms in 2011 to reach 961 classrooms in 159 schools across 95 municipalities and cities nationwide. In Iloilo, that impact is already helping students spend more time learning and less time waiting for classroom space to become available.
For more information, visit www.securitybank.com/foundation.
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About Security Bank
Security Bank Corporation is one of the Philippines’ leading universal banks, with total assets of PHP1.19 trillion as of June 30, 2026. Established in 1951, the Bank serves retail, business, corporate, and institutional clients through its nationwide network of 397 branches and 699 ATMs and Cash Recycler Machines.
The Bank provides banking, lending, payments, treasury, and wealth management solutions. Guided by its BetterBanking promise, Security Bank is focused on making banking simpler, faster, and more responsive for customers.
Security Bank’s strategic partnership with MUFG Bank, Japan’s largest bank and one of the world’s leading financial groups, strengthens its capabilities in cross-border business, governance, risk management, and capital markets. MUFG Bank holds a 20% stake in Security Bank.
In 2026, Security Bank was recognized as Best Private Bank in the Philippines by Global Finance and Philippines’ Best for High-Net-Worth by Euromoney. It was also named the top Philippine company in the TIME and Statista World's Best Companies rankings. The Bank holds a Moody’s credit rating of Baa2 with a stable outlook and an MSCI ESG Rating of A.
For more information, visit securitybank.com.
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