Severe tropical storm Paeng didn’t leave just 121 people dead and another 36 still missing in different parts of the country as of last count yesterday, it also left extensive damage to infrastructure, including the schools.
According to the Department of Education (DepEd), schools reported over 600 classrooms affected, with 381 of these completely destroyed.
Another report pegged total damage caused by Paeng to the education department at around ?1.34 billion.
Unfortunately, not all damage was caused by the storm. In Muntinlupa City, evacuees left classrooms unusable after destroying their blackboards and leaving trash behind, an act that Mayor Ruffy Biazon has likened to vandalism.
With classes returning to face-to-face mode as of yesterday, the matter of repairing or rebuilding these classrooms becomes even more urgent.
While there are calls for lawmakers to earmark funds to fix the classrooms, there is also a ready source of funds that can be used to shoulder some of the repairs; the “confidential funds” of DepEd.
Last September, DepEd, which is under Vice President Sara Duterte Carpio, was allowed ?150 million in confidential funds, although it is not an agency that has need for such a fund, given its nature and mandate.
We questioned why this was allowed, since DepeEd doesn’t engage in any role that requires a confidential fund. However, it does seem fortuitous and even fortunate now that DepEd has money ready during a time when it needs money.
While ?150 million may not much, it can help start repairs and rebuilding while those lawmakers work on getting the money for those classrooms.
The faster they get this done the better. Considering how the quality of learning of our students has been plummeting over the years, we cannot expect our students to improve when they are being taught in an environment that is not conducive to learning at all.
Let’s hope Vice President Carpio realizes she can put that money, which would otherwise be wasted on pursuits outside her mandate as Education secretary, to good use.