DepEd in need of P18 billion to repair schools damaged by calamities

The Department of Education (DepEd) on Tuesday said that they needed at least P18 billion to repair the schools damaged by recent natural disasters such as typhoons and earthquakes.

At a Palace briefing, DepEd spokesperson Michael Poa noted that the P18 billion was for the restoration of facilities affected by Typhoon Odette and Tropical Storm Agaton, and just recently, the magnitude 7 earthquake that hit Abra.

“We are not just counting the earthquake, pati ‘yung immediate lang po, early 2021 to early 2022, ‘yung mga Typhoon Odette and Agaton, it already amounted to P16 billion. We add pa po the now still-increasing number kasi day by day, ‘yung sa earthquake, nagpapalit ‘yung schools na may damage. Right now, we’re at P1.4 to P1.7 billion, but that’s unverified,” he said.

“In total, talagang nasa P18 billion ‘yung kakailanganin natin,” he added.

(We are not just counting the earthquake, but also Typhoons Odette and Agaton. For those calamities, the damage amounted to P16 billion. If we add the number of schools damaged by the earthquake, these are still increasing, the number of schools is changing day by day. Right now, we're at P1.4 to P1.7 billion, but that's unverified. In total, we will need about P18 billion.)

As classes are set to reopen three weeks from now, Poa said that they were looking at “quick intervention” to address the issues in learning spaces in areas affected by calamities.

He said the DepEd planned to build temporary learning spaces and was finding other areas available where classes could be conducted.

“What we are looking at now po, from the Department of Education’s side, is quick intervention. Nandoon po tayo sa pagtatayo ng mga temporary learning spaces natin. Ito ‘yung spaces made out of light materials pero may bubong po ito para safe namang mag-aral ‘yung ating mga learners,” he said, adding that such temporary learning spaces could be built in at least three days.

(We are building temporary learning spaces. These are the spaces made out of light materials but it has a roof so that our learners can study safely.)

“We are also looking at available spaces. We are coordinating with the LGUs, the barangays, kung merong mahahanap na mga lugar na hindi naman nagagamit, sa ngayon baka pwedeng gamitin ng ating mga learners,” he added.

Poa said that they had asked the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for P16 billion for the reconstruction of schools.

“Aside from asking for additional budget from the DBM, we are focusing on quick interventions para hindi maantala ‘yung pag-aaral ng ating mga learners,” he said.

During the launch of this year’s Brigada Eskwela on Monday, Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte said that the recent earthquake affected more than 9,000 schools.

She noted that an assessment from the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Service showed that the government would need P1.4 billion for the repair of 451 classrooms destroyed, and 706 damaged classrooms. — DVM, GMA News