Students of a school in Cagayan de Oro City barely escaped harm when a portion of the roof of the covered court they were taking shelter at collapsed amid strong winds and rain.

Classes at Tignapoloan National High School in Barangay Tignapoloan were suspended that day on July 16, 2026 due to bad weather but the students were forced to stay in school and take shelter at the covered court when the weather worsened.

“Katong panahona kay mao naman to ang pag-declare sa Principal nga ipauli na ang mga bata kay grabe na gyud kakusog ang hangin pero ang ulan hinay ra, ang hangin gyud ang maoy kusog kayo. Unya na timing ang mga bata nga pauli nagsilong sa ilalom,” said Barangay Captain Nancy Aban.

Aban said the students thought the entire roof of the covered court would collapse.

Fortunately, the part of the roof that collapsed got snagged on the basketball goal, which prevented the roof from collapsing entirely.

Personnel of the City Engineer’s Office and the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Department (CDRRMD) have checked the covered court.

After the incident, a social media post circulated claiming that the covered court is a project of the local government under the administration of Mayor Rolando Uy. However, the City Information Office denied the claim.

“Ma-politicize anyway ang gibuhat sa atong syudad kay siya naman ang atong mayor karon. Giadtuan na man sa city engineering office. Aron pud ma-safe ang katawhan sa Barangay Tignapoloan, gi-demolish nato ang daot nga structure ug tabangan gihapon sa syudad ang pag-rebuild sa covered court kay sa nakita pud sa atong city engineering, medyo nagtaya na,” Uy’s spokesperson, Janboy Actub, said.

Aban also clarified that the facility was not constructed under the current administration but was an LGU project implemented in 2012.

“Kanang covered court 2012 pana under na siya kay Mayor Dongkoy Emano. Unya, nakabalo ko ana kay barangay record keeper pa sab ko ana nga panahon. Naa gyud ang record ana diri sa barangay… ang mga vouchers, kaning BID documents, naa ra man diri sa barangay,” Aban said.