Classes in Metro Manila, Central Luzon resume today

MANILA, Philippines - Education Secretary Armin Luistro expects classes in public and private schools in Metro Manila and other monsoon-affected regions to resume today.

“Except as announced by LGUs in areas like Marikina, schools will reopen tomorrow, Monday,” he said.

Marikina has suspended classes up to today and will resume them tomorrow, he added.

Luistro said 244 public schools in Metro Manila, Central Luzon and Calabarzon are serving as evacuation centers.

Principals and teachers in these schools will hold stress debriefing sessions for students and children, he added.

They have conducted clean-up operations during the weekend when good weather prevailed over Metro Manila and the other regions, Luistro said.

Cristina Ganzon, DepEd Communications Unit director, said of the 244 schools serving as evacuation centers, 50 are in Metro Manila, 34 in Central Luzon, 59 in Calabarzon, and two in Ilocos region.

Calamity funds

Aurora Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara proposed yesterday the allocation of calamity funds for public schools used as temporary shelter during calamities

to pay for electricity and water bills and the cleanup of facilities.

“What is happening today is that after typhoon evacuees have left, the school has utility bills to pay, trash to be collected, and rooms and toilets to be cleaned,” he said.

“In some cases, there are unintentional damage caused, minor ones though, like broken chairs or misplaced books, which can’t be avoided due to the emergency nature of their taking refuge in the school.”

Angara said the schools shoulder the repair and replacement of these facilities.

 “That’s about one peso per student per school day,” he said.

“And money for water, electricity, test materials, the salary of a security guard, supplies, and all other operational expenses is taken from the maintenance and other operating expenses,” he said.

Angara said the government could reimburse part of the “unforeseen expenses” schools used as evacuation centers during calamities.

The reimbursement can be drawn from the Calamity Fund of P7.5 billion this year and from local governments, he added.

Angara said a little help in defraying the cost in hosting evacuees will go a long way in helping schools normalize operations and resume classes early.

“As most schools lack or are without janitors, the tidying up of the campus ultimately falls into the hands of the students,” he said. “The big mess is usually left to little children to clean.” - With Jess Diaz