US envoy inaugurates disaster-resilient classrooms in Leyte

 

PALO, Leyte  – United States Ambassador Philip Goldberg led the inauguration of a 10-classroom school building here promising of more assistance from the US government for the rehabilitation of typhoon-Yolanda Eastern Visayas region.

He said the United States will be “going to continue our efforts in Leyte and Samar,” he said. “What we want to do is help Leyte and Samar comeback and build more resilience into what is going on.”

The inaugurated school building is part of the US government’s commitment to provide $143-million post-Yolanda assistance aimed to restore access not just to education but also health services and livelihood sources in the affected areas. The construction of the school building was undertaken by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

USAID has committed to construct 310 flood and earthquake resilient classrooms in 51 schools in Samar, Leyte and Tacloban City. As of date 199 of these classrooms have already been completed while construction of 111 classrooms is still ongoing. The classrooms are designed to withstand a magnitude 8.5 earthquake.

“It gives us a bliss to come up with something like this. This will give us shelter and protection when disaster happens again,” says Leyte Gov. Dominic Petilla.

Petilla said he personally witnessed how children would attend classes under harsh conditions in tents after the typhoon exposing them to extreme heat when it is sunny and flood when it rains.

Ambassador Goldberg said that on his numerous visits to Leyte he has seen the improvements that have happened since he first came to Tacloban a few days after the onslaught of typhoon Yolanda.

“I can tell you that I had never seen anything like it outside of a warzone, where everything has been destroyed and so much loss of life,” he recalls of his first visit to Leyte.

“Because of everyone’s efforts locally with the international community, the national government coming together, it is much, much improved,” he replied to the query of his assessment on the levels of reconstruction and rehabilitation.

“I know it is never fast enough. There are always great challenges that will remain. But I can say that between the first time I arrived here until now, there has been a tremendous development,” he said.

Aside from the 10-room school building, USAID also provided a starter kit to teachers and tikog-made school bags to 550 students. Each of the 10 classrooms is equipped with 55 desks, one teacher table and chair, and two electric fans.

Goldberg also expects a continued strong relationship between the US and the Philippines under the administration of incoming president Rodrigo Duterte.

“The US and the Philippines have an enduring relationship, a very important relationship based on democracies, our values, our mutual defense treaty. They bring us together as people,” he told journalists here.

He said there are already 3.5 million Filipino-Americans, over 200,00 of them are residing in the Philippines.

“(The Philippines and US) are tied now through that connection, not just through democracy and the values that we share,” he said.

“The most important could also be the people to people relationship is very strong and I expect that to continue.” — APG, GMA News