Vice President Leni Robredo reiterated Monday the need to redesign public schools to make them more disaster-resilient following the series of natural disasters that hit the country.

Robredo, in an interview with ANC Headstart, said that aside from health facilities, more investments should be put into redesigning school buildings especially in areas that are frequented by typhoons since these serve as temporary shelters for affected families and individuals before, during, and after the calamity.

Hailing from the Bicol region which is frequented by typhoons, Robredo said that schools have been used for evacuation. “This has been one of the things that I’ve been requesting, even in the past administrations,” she said.

Robredo noted that the design of the school buildings should depend on the area.

“For example, most of our public schools in Manila are multi-level but in our region, most of our schools are one-story,” she said. “I’ve been saying that in areas that are prone to flooding, they should not put schools that are one-story because they go underwater during floods,” she added.

Roofs or ceilings of classrooms, Robredo added, should also redesigned. “We were requesting for a concrete slab design or others that can withstand typhoons,” she said.

Robredo shared that based on her observations during her visits to areas ravaged by the recent typhoons, most of the schools lost their roof or ceilings. “It was really scary because it happened while there were evacuees inside,” she added.

She expressed hope that building stronger and more disaster-resilient schools will be prioritized in the national budget.