Kristine destroys, damages hundreds of classrooms

MANILA, Philippines —  Amid a limited budget to address classroom shortage nationwide, school infrastructure incurred damage amounting to P765 million due to Severe Tropical Storm Kristine, according to the Department of Education (DepEd).

A total of 223 classrooms were destroyed while 415 were damaged, based on DepEd’s situational report as of yesterday.

A P557.5-million budget is needed for classroom reconstruction and P207.5 million for “major repairs,” the DepEd said.

Infrastructure damage was reported by 171 schools, a majority of which are in Eastern Visayas with 79 schools and 38 in the Bicol region.

The figure is expected to increase as Kristine was forecast to remain in the Philippine area of responsibility until Friday.

Eastern Visayas recorded 77 and 179 destroyed and damaged classrooms, respectively. Bicol had 69 destroyed and 115 damaged classrooms.

Meanwhile, 143 schools have reported “hazard incidents” such as flooding and landslides, while 309 schools are being used as evacuation centers.

Education Secretary Sonny Angara gave assurance that the DepEd has a Quick Response Fund and rehabilitation fund to repair or reconstruct damaged infrastructure, though he did not give the exact amount available for disbursement.

“As for smaller repairs, the schools also have their respective funds,” Angara said yesterday in a chance interview with reporters on the sidelines of a forum at the University of the Philippines in Quezon City.

Angara on Wednesday admitted that the DepEd does not have sufficient budget to address the nationwide classroom shortage, pegged at around 165,000 classrooms.

The DepEd, he said, must explore other possible funding sources such as more public-private partnerships (PPP) and loan assistance.

He said it is harder to attract investors for classroom construction as compared to investors for other infrastructure projects such as roads and bridges, which are seen as more profitable investments.

Of the DepEd’s P793.17-billion approved budget for 2025, a huge chunk will be allocated to maintenance and other operating expenses of elementary and secondary schools (P49.76 billion); government assistance and subsidies (P40.51 billion) and creation of new school personnel positions (P34 billion)

Only P29.3 billion will be allocated for basic education facilities, which includes the construction of classrooms.

Angara admitted that such allocation would not be enough.

“That’s why we are exploring other possibilities like PPPs and the official development assistance. Right now, DepEd only gets one percent of the total ODA pie, meaning, of the total loans of the government (under ODA), only one percent goes to education,” Angara said.

Government  accountability

Meanwhile, the Amihan National Federation of Peasant Women said yesterday the Marcos administration should be held accountable for the devastation caused by Kristine.

“The government should have a comprehensive program that would relieve the effects of floods and landslides and cover effective rehabilitation efforts,” said Amihan national chairperson Zenaida Soriano.

President Marcos should give P25,000 in compensation and production subsidies to farmers and fishermen affected by Kristine, Soriano said.

Climate change’s impact could be addressed by halting land use conversions, reclamation projects, quarrying, mining and logging operations, she noted.

Rice farmers in Laguna are burdened with debts due to the high cost of production, reaching P60,000 to P70,000 per hectare, while farmgate prices of palay have dropped to P15 per kilo and may even go down to P10 per kilo due to rains, she said. – Emmanuel Tupas