ILOILO City – Close to 1,000 public schools across the country called off face-to-face classes on Friday, Sept. 4, as the southwest monsoon continued to bring rains that could trigger flooding and landslides in several areas.
The Department of Education (DepEd) reported that 988 public schools belonging to 36 schools divisions in six regions had suspended in-person classes as of 7 a.m.
Central Luzon accounted for more than half of the affected schools, with 566 suspensions. It was followed by Calabarzon with 261 schools, Ilocos Region with 90, Cordillera Administrative Region with 66, Central Visayas with four and Metro Manila with one.
Western Visayas, meanwhile, remained under the influence of the southwest monsoon.
DepEd’s weather outlook showed that Antique, Iloilo and Guimaras could experience cloudy skies, scattered rains and thunderstorms. Moderate to occasionally heavy rainfall may cause flash floods or landslides in susceptible areas.
Other portions of the Visayas could have partly cloudy to cloudy conditions with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms. Severe thunderstorms could likewise result in localized flooding or landslides.
The prolonged spell of adverse weather has also turned hundreds of schools into temporary shelters for displaced residents.
DepEd said 475 schools, covering 1,983 classrooms, were being utilized as evacuation centers for 15,570 families.
Of these, 283 schools were in Central Luzon, 66 in Calabarzon, 65 in the Ilocos Region, 39 in Metro Manila, 11 in Eastern Visayas, eight in Mimaropa and three in the Cordillera region.
School facilities have also sustained considerable damage from the combined effects of the southwest monsoon and tropical cyclones Luis, Maymay, Neneng, Obet and Pilandok.
Initial assessments listed 6,835 classrooms with minor damage, 2,476 with major damage and 2,281 that were completely damaged.
DepEd placed the cost of rebuilding facilities in 504 schools at P5.703 billion.
Another P1.238 billion would be required for major repairs in 689 schools, while minor repairs involving 1,536 schools were estimated to cost P334.915 million.
The department also projected P67.430 million for cleanup operations covering 2,319 schools.
As of 8 a.m. Friday, Tropical Storm Pilandok and Tropical Storm Saudel, formerly Obet, were already outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility.
A low-pressure area outside PAR was also being watched and had a medium possibility of developing into a tropical depression within the next 24 hours.
DepEd said its disaster risk reduction and management personnel remained in coordination with field offices to verify class suspensions, assess emerging impacts and facilitate the clearing and repair of affected schools.
Authorities warned that continuing rains and thunderstorms could still bring localized flooding and landslides and cause further disruptions to school operations./PN
