“WE are in a quicksand.”
This was how Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte described the situation of the Department of Education (DepEd) following the destruction brought about by Typhoon “Odette” last year—from which the school system has yet to recover—and the magnitude 7 earthquake that hit northern Luzon recently.
“We need more than P18 billion, excluding the P1.4 billion of the damage from the Abra earthquake to get ourselves out of the quicksand of this year and last year,” Duterte disclosed in her message during the 2022 National Brigada Eskwela (BE) Kick- Off at Imus Pilot Elementary School in Imus, Cavite on Monday.
“Hindi pa nga natin naayos at natapos ang destruction ng isang kalamidad and dumating na naman ang isa pang kalamidad [We have not been able to fix and completed repair of the destruction left by the other calamity, yet another calamity has arrived],” she pointed out.
However, Duterte expressed confidence that the department will overcome the challenges.
“And we will overcome with the support of our national government and the administration of [President Ferdinand] Bongbong Marcos [Jr.],” she said.
Meanwhile, in a press briefing after the BE kick-off, DepEd spokesperson Atty. Michael Tan Poa said the agency is looking into creating temporary learning spaces for the earthquake-hit areas.
As for the implementation of face-to-face classes in these areas, Poa said that they will make an official announcement soon.
According to the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Service (DRRMS), 263 were damaged of the 9,903 affected schools from Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR); in Ilocos Region (59 schools), Cagayan Valley Region (29), Central Luzon Region (21), Calabarzon (1), and National Capital Region (1).
Of the schools, 451 classrooms were severly damaged while 706 were partially damaged. The DepEd said the estimated damage is P1.48 billion.
A total of 4,460 schools have declared suspension of work after the earthquake. Abra, Ilocos Norte, Candon City, Ilocos Sur, Vigan City, and Urdaneta City have not yet declared the resumption of work.
In Region 1 and CAR, 25 schools were used as evacuation centers of 583 families.
Image credits: Manuel T. Cayon