The Department of Education (DepEd) welcomes the in-kind donations for its students, teaching, and non-teaching personnel who were adversely affected by the recent string of calamities that hit the country.
“We are encouraging private individuals and our partners that want to donate to the victims of the typhoons to donate in-kind, we are refraining from receiving monetary donations,” said DepEd Undersecretary for Legislative Affairs, External Partnerships, and Project Management Service Tonisito M.C. Umali.
Umali also advised interested donors not to bring the items to be donated to the Central Office. “It is also better to directly drop off your donations at our regional or division offices for convenience,” he added.
The onslaught of typhoons “Rolly” and “Ulysses” early this month left hundreds of schools damaged and displaced thousands of students, teachers and other DepEd personnel.
As of Nov. 18, DepEd Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Service (DRRMS) reported that classes in 20,649 schools remain suspended, affecting 11,273,091 enrollees due to “Ulysses.” Likewise, classes in 3,813 schools are still suspended affecting 1,616,670 learners due to “Rolly.”
DepEd also reported that 352 schools the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), National Capital Region (NCR), Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, and Eastern Visayas are being used as evacuation centers due to “Ulysses.” A total of 286 schools are also used by the evacuees in Region IV-A and V.
Based on the latest data, DepEd said that “Ulysses” damaged 1,581 schools while 1,982 school were damaged by “Rolly.”
The combined estimated cost for repair, reconstruction or rehabilitation of these schools is more than P10 billion or P3.5 billion for “Ulysses” and P6.6 billion for “Rolly.”
Earlier, DepEd Region IV-A (Calabarzon) Regional Director Wilfredo Cabral also encouraged schools division offices (SDOs) to initiate in-kind donation drive to “generate goods” such as mats, blankets, towels, pillows, clothes, toiletries, detergents, soaps, and other food items that can be sent to the affected students and personnel - especially those located in the province of Rizal.
This week, DepEd also met with representatives of various external partners and partners such as World Vision, PLDT-SMART Foundation, Globe Telecom, Ayala Foundation, GMA Kapuso Foundation, China Bank Savings, Aboitiz, City Savings Bank, Metrobank Foundation, Fundacion Educacion Y Cooperacion – EDUCO, Knowledge Channel Foundation, UNILAB, Security Bank, Bank of the Philippine Islands, Colgate-Palmolive, REBISCO, Nestle Philippines, Mariwasa, and GAKKEN Philippines - among others - who attended the coordination meeting to extend their support for the education sector during these difficult times.