ILOILO City – Nearly 80 classrooms in Western Visayas were damaged due to heavy rains and strong winds brought by Tropical Storm Kristine last week, according to the Department of Education (DepEd) Region 6.
As of October 25, DepEd-6’s preliminary data showing a total of 79 classrooms were affected: 59 sustained minor damage, five suffered major damage, and 15 were completely destroyed.
The breakdown of classroom damage per Schools Division Office (SDO) is as follows:
* classrooms with minor damage – Iloilo, 14; Negros Occidental, 19; Roxas City, 3; San Carlos City, 13; Himamaylan City, 10
* classrooms with major damage – Iloilo, 1; Negros Occidental, 2; Himamaylan City, 2;
* classrooms with total damage – Iloilo, 1; Negros Occidental, 8; San Carlos City, 1; Himamaylan City, 5
Hernani Escullar Jr., regional information officer for DepEd-6, said classrooms with minor damage could be repaired at the school level, depending on available Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE).
For major and total damage, reports have been sent to the DepEd Central Office to allocate funds for repairs.
Despite the damage, Escullar assured the public that classes remain unaffected. School heads have identified alternative spaces to serve as temporary classrooms, ensuring that learning continues without disruption.
“The school head can make necessary adjustments to ensure learning continuity,” he said.
According to the National School Building Inventory for School Year 2022-2023, Region 6 has a total of 62,263 instructional classrooms:
* Elementary – 40,147
* Junior High School – 14,956
* Senior High School – 7,160
Of these, only 8,220 classrooms are in good condition, while 127 are marked for completion, 316 are for condemnation or demolition, 11,365 require major repairs, and 11,551 need minor repairs.
The region needs more than 14,000 additional classrooms to provide a conducive learning environment for students. Negros Occidental and Iloilo Province top the list of required classrooms, needing 7,837 and 1,600 classrooms, respectively.
On October 23, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) placed Panay Island and the northern part of Negros Occidental under Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 1, prompting the automatic suspension of in-person classes in the region from October 23 to 24. The signal was lifted by October 25./PN
