The Schools Division Office (SDO) of the Department of Education (DepEd) in Palawan said 847 school classrooms damaged by super typhoon Odette have been repaired, while 136 need to be rebuilt.
Felina Padrones, chief education supervisor of the School Governance and Operations Division (SGOD), said in a press conference Thursday last week, March 10, that other facilities and equipment, including their radio-based instruction, or RBI units, were also compromised because of Odette.
“As of now ay mayroon na ring improvement kasi ‘yong mga minor repairs ay ginawaan ng paraan ng mga schools through their maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE), at [ng] community. Pero ang iba na malalaki talaga ang damage ay naghihintay tayo ng pondo,” Padrones said.
She estimated that P766 million will be required to repair classrooms and others that were damaged by the storm. The allotment for Palawan, on the other hand, is only roughly P57 million.
According to the new guidelines, only the 5th and 6th class municipalities, namely Linapacan, Magsaysay, Agutaya, Kalayaan, and Cagayancillo, are tasked to repair.
“Sa ngayon ang allocated sa atin is only P57 million and that is only for repair, medyo malaking challenge po kasi as to the new instruction [ay] na devolve na ito sa mga local government, kaya ang concern ng division office ay mga 5th to 6th class municipalities,” Padrones said.
“‘Yon lang po ang puwede sa construction ng division office, the rest po ay devolve sa local government units,” she added.
