OBO: City school buildings are safe

CEBU, Philippines — The Office of the Building Official (OBO) found no serious damage to school buildings in Cebu City following a magnitude 5 earthquake last Sunday that prompted local and education officials to suspend classes yesterday.

OBO chief Architect Florante Catalan said they have inspected the schools in Cebu City upon the instruction of acting Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia.

Catalan said cracks were found on the walls of Abellana National Highschool but none were seen around the beams or columns which could have compromised the structural integrity of the building.

“I-ayo lang gyud mga na-crack. Naa sad tay nakita nga mga na crack sa mga window jams,” said Catalan.

Despite the cracks, Catalan said the school buildings remain safe and structurally sound.

As of yesterday, there were at least two rooms with visible cracks that were seen during the inspection.  There were at least six OBO teams who made rounds in different public schools of Cebu City to check on the structural integrity of the school buildings following the earthquake on Sunday.

Catalan assured they have “experts” to assess the visible cracks of the structures. He added, it is important that if such a natural disaster hit the area, schools should call upon an engineer to immediately inspect and ensure security.

“Give us a report, a copy of your findings, a certification from your engineer na ang building nyo is safe or hindi,” he said.

Therese Vito- Lao, Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) consultant of Abellana National School, said that classes could already resume today after the inspection has cleared the security threat on the students.

According to Catalan, they will also be inspecting the high-rise buildings including those that still have ongoing constructions. He added they also communicated with each management to ask for incident report.

He said that should a visible crack be assessed as “danger”, they will have to be recommended for isolation and prevent people from using it.

Meanwhile, several towns in Cebu Province have declared suspension of classes yesterday following the earthquake.

In Poro, where the epicenter of the quake was located, the local government unit ordered the cancellation of classes from elementary to high school both in private and public schools.

In Cordova, the LGU also implemented the memorandum issued by the Department of Education (DepEd-7) to shift classes to modular distance learning to give way for the inspection of the school buildings for possible damages.

“Isip amahan sa lungsod ug bisan pa man ang memo gi-issue sa Schools Division of Cebu City, mosanong usab kita sa pagsiguro nga luwas ang mga classrooms para sa atong mga magtutungha ug magtutudlo sa Cordova. Atong ipa-inspect kon aduna ba kini mga damage o liki tungod sa nahitabong linog kagahapong adlawa," Mayor Cesar “Didoy” Suan said.

Class suspension was applicable for elementary to high school including Cordova Public College. Suan also ordered its Municipal Engineering Office to assess school buildings and other infrastructures.

The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) through its spokesperson Wilson Ramos said they have not received any report of infrastructure damage.

Last Sunday, a series of tremors were felt in some areas in the Visayas. The epicenter of the tectonic earthquake was recorded in Poro town in the Camotes Group of Islands. — (FREEMAN)