BAGUIO CITY – This year’s “Brigada Eskwela in the Cordillera” is not just about preparing classrooms for the opening of classes on June 3, but will also make sure that the schools are safe and disaster-ready, a regional education official said Thursday.
“It’s preparing our schools — the physical facilities — to be disaster-resilient,” said Georaloy Palao-ay, Department of Education (DepEd) – Cordillera public affairs officer.
Palao-ay said the DepEd central office issued a memorandum that mentioned the importance of complying with the “school safety and preparedness guide”, a checklist that public schools must follow to ensure their resilience.
“Kasama na dyan itong (That includes) school disaster management,” he said, noting that risk reduction and resilience education specifies equipping the schools with first aid kits, flashlights, megaphones and other things necessary during emergencies.
Palao-ay said they are informing stakeholders of their thrust and donors could help complete the equipment needed to make schools disaster-resilient.
He said the safety audit of all public school infrastructures is continuing because it is up to regional engineers to give the go signal that their facilities are ready for occupancy.
Palao-ay explained that in the Cordillera, it is not just the infrastructures that are being checked but the location of the schools itself, considering that they are generally situated in mountainous areas.
“We cannot do anything more for the schools if they are already put up in danger and hazard zones but engineering measures are being put in place as a remedy to the situation,” he added.
He also said that the DepEd and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) are closely coordinating regarding structures that are still to be constructed.
“Napakahalaga ng ginagawa ng DPWH at DepEd (What the DPWH and the DepEd are doing is important). Before constructing, they add as activity the soil testing. It is already incorporated as part of the budget of the construction, unlike before. Soil testing is costly,” Palao-ay said.
He noted that following the natural calamities that hit the Cordillera recently, the department has called for stricter design standards that meet the needs of the region’s topography to assure that they are resilient.
Palao-ay also said that the central office has advised its divisions to coordinate with local engineering offices for the assessment of the safety of the structures.
As of posting, the regional office of the DepEd has not received information on any school building being condemned.
Palao-ay said that ensuring the safety of the school buildings is part of the 2019 Brigada Eskwela that was launched on May 20 nationwide.
“Ifugao, Mountain Province, and Kalinga has started much earlier as part of their preparing the schools for the election. In Baguio, so far so good,” he added.** PNA
