DepEd: P3.37 billion needed to repair Odette-damaged classrooms

The Department of Education needs P3.37 billion to repair or rebuild classrooms damaged by Typhoon Odette, Education Secretary Leonor Briones said Monday.

Briones said that Typhoon Odette totally damaged 1,068 classrooms while another 1,316 classrooms were partially damaged.

These figures, however, are as of December 27 alone.

"We need financial assistance," she said during President Rodrigo Duterte's Talk to the People on Monday but aired on Tuesday.

Briones then said that the DepEd has around P230 million Quick Response Fund left which can be used to aid Odette-affected regions.

Of this figure, P3.8 million are in the DepEd Central Office while P227 million are lodged in DepEd's regional offices.

"These are 2021 and 2020 continuing funds," Briones said.

Human Settlements and Urban Development Secretary Eduardo del Rosario, for his part, said the National Housing Authority (NHA) will initially provide P5,000 cash shelter assistance to each of 97,500 families affected by Typhoon Odette.

"The NHA shelter assistance we are to provide initially to 97,500 families is worth P487.5 million for Regions 4B, 7, 8, 10 and 13," del Rosario said.

"We have a total of partially damaged houses at 339,327 and totally damaged at 167,077 for a total of 506, 404, but this is not a final figure," he added.

A total 5,598 shelter-grade tarpaulin sheets were also handed over to local government units, while the state-run Home Development Mutual Fund Corporation (Pag-IBIG) has allocated P5 billion to fund calamity loans for members affected by the typhoon.

Typhoon Odette caused widespread devastation when it cut a path from Siargao Island in Surigao del Norte to parts of Mindanao and Visayas and Palawan on December 16 and 17.

Duterte on December 21 declared a state of calamity over regions hit by Typhoon Odette. —KG/KBK, GMA News