No classes for one week

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang has approved the suspension of classes in all levels in Metro Manila and other areas inundated by tropical storm “Ondoy” for the rest of the week.

During yesterday’s Cabinet meeting at the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) headquarters at Camp Aguinaldo, Education Secretary Jesli Lapus and Commission on Higher Education (CHED) chairman Emmanuel Angeles recommended the suspension of classes for the entire week to allow cleanup operations in the areas inundated by last Saturday’s floods, the worst that hit Metro Manila and nearby provinces in recent years.

Lapus said the suspension of classes would apply to elementary and high school levels in the National Capital Region; Cainta, Rizal; Cavite; and the towns of Sta. Rosa, Mabitac, Famy and Calamba in Laguna.

Angeles, for his part, said the suspension of classes in the collegiate level would apply to the affected regions, including Regions 4-A (Calabarzon), 4-B (Mimaropa) and parts of Region 3 (Central Luzon).

Lapus explained the recommendation to suspend classes was made to allow the families of students, teachers and even DepEd employees in the affected areas to focus on cleaning up and rehabilitation of their homes.

Lapus added a total of 170 public school buildings are also being used as evacuation centers where some 10,000 families are currently taking refuge.

The DepEd’s Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office added the school buildings that were turned into evacuation centers are currently sheltering a total of 9,129 families or 18,199 people from Metro Manila, Regions I, II, III, IV-A, IV-B and Cordillera Administrative Region.

Lapus also urged parents and teachers to reactivate “Brigada Eskwela” and help in the clean up of the flooded school buildings.

Angeles added some colleges and universities are also being used as evacuation centers.

He also called on students to take part in the cleanup of their school campus while they have no classes.

Angeles said nursing and medical students might also take the opportunity to help in medical missions to help displaced families.

The Philippine National Police (PNP), for its part, would deploy the cadets of the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) and students of the National Service Training Program (NTSP) to help in the cleanup drive, said police spokesman Chief Superintendent Nicanor Bartolome.

Bartolome, chief of the PNP’s Police Community Relations Service, said cadets of the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) would also be deployed to help in the cleanup drive.

Bartolome said police recruits from regional police offices in nearby provinces would be called for community and cleanup service.

President Arroyo is expected to issue an executive order to declare a special non-working holiday for the calamity areas to allow residents to focus on rehabilitating their damaged homes. – With James Mananghaya, Rainier Allan Ronda