School buildings inspection pushed amid earthquakes

A lawmaker has called on government agencies to conduct structural safety inspections of all school buildings for two weeks amid the series of earthquakes that rocked parts of the country.

Caloocan Representative Dean Asistio made the call under House Resolution 347, saying the inspection should be done with Local Government Units alongside the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education, and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.

 Asistio said schools should revert to alternative delivery modalities (ADM) in all levels of education, both public and private, to avoid learning disruption.

“Hangad po natin na matiyak hindi lang edukasyon ng ating mga kabataan, kundi maging ang kaligtasan ng bawat guro, empleyado, at mag-aaral,” Asistio said in a statement.

(What we want is to ensure not only the education for our learners, but their safety, as well as the safety of the school employees.)

Earthquakes in Cebu, Zambales, and Davao Oriental have been recorded in the past four days. 

The Department of Education — National Capital Region suspended face-to-face classes (F2F) in all public schools in Metro Manila on October 13 and 14 to facilitate disinfection and sanitation amid an increase in cases of influenza-like illnesses.

In an advisory on Sunday night, DepEd NCR also cited the need to conduct building inspections following recent powerful earthquakes that hit different parts of the country. —LDF, GMA Integrated News