By Ma. Teresa Montemayor | Philippine News Agency
MANILA—As evacuees from areas affected by the Taal Volcano unrest return home, the number of affected learners is now down to 500,000, the Department of Education (DepEd) reported on Thursday.
In a statement, the DepEd said 566,498 learners in 1,025 schools belonging to seven divisions under one region were affected as classes remain suspended in some areas in Region 4A.
Of the nine divisions, Batangas had the most number of affected schools with 762, Batangas City with 104, Lipa City with 85, and Tanauan City with 59.
The DepEd said some public schools are still being used as evacuation centers in Batangas, 248; Batangas City, 15; Calamba City, two; Cavite, seven; General Trias City, six; Lipa City, eight; and two in Tanauan City.
On Wednesday, the DepEd engineers assessed the condition of school buildings in Batangas—the Coral na Munti National High School, Agoncillo Senior High School, and Balangon Elementary High School—as the lockdown has been lifted.
In an earlier interview, Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones urged local government units within the Taal Volcano area to build permanent evacuation centers in order to enhance their disaster and crisis preparedness as evacuees start returning home.
“This is the time to prepare facilities and strengthen our capacity to deal with not only health disasters but also natural disasters. This is a break we should take advantage of,” Briones said.
Through Memorandum 9 Series of 2020, the DepEd also provided guidelines for the tracking of learners and personnel affected by the Taal Volcano eruption, as well as the donations and other interventions to be undertaken.