DepEd: Public schools ready for rainy season

Public schools in the country are ready for the rainy season now that the Department of Education (DepEd) has fixed almost all classrooms that were affected by extreme weather disturbances last year, Education Secretary Mona Valisno said Saturday. “As much as possible, nakahanda [ang public schools]…, pero we can never tell kung ano na naman ang mangyayari (As much as possible, public schools are ready… but we can never tell what will happen this time)," Valisno said in a live interview aired over QTV 11’s “Balitanghali." She added that the DepEd has already addressed almost all “loopholes" that caused damage to public schools last year due to cyclones and floods.
Over P552-million worth of education infrastructure and equipment were damaged after typhoon “Ondoy" caused heavy flooding in Metro Manila and nearby provinces last September. (See: Storm 'Ondoy' makes landfall, causes widespread flooding) According to DepEd, damage to classrooms brought by “Ondoy" reached over P334 million while damage to school equipment reached over P206 million. (See: Saksi: Books in school among those destroyed by storm Ondoy) The DepEd activated this month its “Brigada Eskwela" program to get classrooms ready for the opening of classes on June 15, including those damaged by “Ondoy." “Natapos kahapon ang initial implementation nito [Brigada Eskwela],… sa tulong ng mga guro, magulang at ng local governments (The initial implementation of Brigada Eskwela was finished yesterday… with the help of teachers, parents and the local governments)," she said. Over 23.4 billion pupils and students are going back to school on June 15, according to Valisno. MMDA gears up for rainy days, too The Metro Manila Development Authority has also started its efforts to prepare for the onset of the rainy season in the country’s capital, especially in flood-prone areas. MMDA general-manager Roberto Nacianceno said in a separate “Balitanghali" report that the agency has been declogging waterways in the metropolis from garbage and informal settlers.
Nacianceno however appealed to the public to dispose of their waste properly to avoid another tragedy due to widespread flooding in Metro Manila. “Ang sinasabi namin (What we're saying is), even as we do this, we inform the community and the public at large, dapat ang basura imanage (we should manage waste)… There’s a need of participation on the part of the public," he said. Nacianceno added that MMDA officials will also talk with engineers from construction sites near drainage channels to remind them to manage their construction debris well. “We found out that the debris of the construction, pumapasok sa (enters into) drainage…Bibisitahin namin ang mga engineer to make sure na hindi pabaya ang kanilang mga trabahador (We will visit the engineers to make sure that their workers don't neglect this point)," he said. State weather forecasters have earlier announced that the rainy season in the country will start in June, in time with the opening of classes. (See: PAGASA: Rainy season expected in June)—Andreo C. Calonzo/JV, GMANews.TV