184 rooms up for construction, rehab

CEBU, Philippines - A total of 184 classrooms in four municipalities devastated by super typhoon Yolanda in northern Cebu are up for construction and rehabilitation before the opening of the next school year.

At least P129 million from local and foreign donors will be spent for the construction of 134 new classrooms and repair of 50 existing ones.

The Department of Education, Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) and the local government units of Daanbantayan, Madridejos, Bantayan, and Santa Fe have signed an agreement to implement the project.

Stipulated in the agreement is for DepEd to provide institutional support and ensure smooth implementation of the project by allowing free and easy access to the schools and full cooperation of the school administrators and the community.

RAFI on the other hand would provide financial support and would be responsible for the building repair and construction, from inception, design, identification of contractors, bidding, monitoring and documentation.

The LGUs should also provide institutional, technical, and operational support in the implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of the project; and facilitate the issuance of necessary building permits and occupancy permits for new school buildings; all expenses shall be on account of the LGU.

Mayors Augusto Corro of Daanbantayan, Ian Christopher Escario of Bantayan, Jose Esgana of Santa Fe, and Vice Mayor Floreto Batayola representing Mayor Salvador dela Fuente of Madridejos have signed the memorandum of agreement.

DepEd-7 director Carmelita Dulangon said that the undertaking was a concrete proof of the spirit of real concern to the school children and the youth.

Dulangon thanked all its partners knowing very well that the obligation is of the DepEd.

Donors of the Yolanda school rehabilitation project include American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, International Rescue Committee, She Entrepreneurs Organization, Artabang, Sacred Heart School-Jesuit Batch 85, Art Association of the Philippines, Portraits Artists Society of the Philippines, Saint Therese College High School Batch 72.

DepEd Cebu reported that 2,189 classrooms in 343 schools of the 14 affected LGUs were damaged affecting around 100,000 pupils in northern Cebu.

To be constructed are the 86 classrooms in 20 schools in Daanbantayan; 42 classrooms in nine schools in Madridejos; 48 classrooms in 12 schools in Bantayan; and eight classrooms in five schools in Santa Fe.

RAFI Education Development Unit executive director Anthony Dignadice said that while many schools in northern Cebu have already started repairing classrooms, the challenge is the repair and replacement of the classrooms that were heavily or totally damaged.

“The main goal is to help bring the students back to their classrooms the earliest possible by rehabilitating the buildings and day care centers and making them available again for use, ideally by the beginning of the next school year,” he said.

The RAFI-Dolores Aboitiz Children’s Fund would also be financing the P16.5 million cost of the construction of eight day care centers in Daanbantayan, three in Madridejos, three in Bantayan and five in Santa Fe.  (FREEMAN)