'Not all' Egay-hit schools ready for re-opening—Marcos
By Raymund Antonio and Raymund Antonio
Some schools that suffered from the massive destruction caused by Typhoon “Egay” in late July might not be ready for the school opening, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. admitted on (From Monday, Aug. 14.
(From left) President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte answer questions from the media during the Brigada Eskwela in Manila. (Ali Vicoy/MANILA BULLETIN)
With the Department of Education (DepEd) setting the school year 2023-24 opening on Aug. 29, the Chief Executive disclosed that not all of the schools hit by the typhoon would be ready later this month.
“Hindi pa lahat… So far, basta kung ano ang kaya nating gawin together with--kasama pa ‘yung ating mga LGU (local government unit) ay ginagawa ang lahat para maayos natin ‘yung mga nasira (Not all… So far, we are doing whatever we can do together with our LGU so we can fix everything that were destroyed),” he said on the sidelines of the Brigada Eskwela 2023 held at the Victorino Mapa High School in San Miguel, Manila.
The President graced the event together with Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte.
Marcos lamented how weather conditions have been hampering the building of more school classrooms.
“Patuloy naman dapat ang School Building Program pero talagang malaking sagabal itong weather natin (The school building program should continue but our weather is a hindrance),” he said.
Duterte, as Education chief, explained that schools hit by Typhoon Egay will be the priority for repairs under this year’s budget.
But in case the repairs on these schools failed to meet the Aug. 29 school opening, the Vice President said schools are instructed to “immediately implement” the blended learning program to prevent learning disruption.
“Ang direction ang Department of Education lagi pong blended learning or in-person classes so tuloy-tuloy ang pag-aaral kahit meron problema sa classroom (The direction of the Department of Education is always blended learning or in-person classes so learning will continue despite problems in classroom),” she added.
Typhoon Egay hit northern Luzon in late July. It caused billions-worth of damages to agriculture and public and private infrastructure.