THE Brigada Eskwela sa Marawi (BESM) kicked off last December 13, 2017 in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur, as a flagship program of the Department of Education (DepEd) for the recovery and rehabilitation of the Islamic city where thousands of students and teachers were displaced during a five-month siege which started on May 23.
During its kickoff ceremony at Amai Pakpak Central Elementary School (Apces), Deped Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones who spearheaded this program announced that this will start off a series of Brigada Eskwela activities in Marawi which will continue for a year, saying "they will not stop until school buildings are school-ready."
As of October 5 last year, a total of 31,393 displaced learners are enrolled in different schools all over the country, with Region 10 hosting most of them. On September 5, 12 schools in Marawi were cleared to open. Most of the children have returned to school, as well as teachers. Residents from the main battle area, however, are still in temporary shelters until authorities declare the "ground zero" safe to return to.
As early as November 9 and in preparation for the BESM, engineers were already deployed by Deped to conduct damage assessment in schools in the war-torn city. A total of 39 schools in 49 barangays outside the main battle area have been assessed by the department. Teams of evaluators sent to the conflict zone included representatives from the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm) and the Marawi City Schools Division, staff members from the Disaster Risk Reduction Management Systems (DRRMS) and the Education Facilities Division (EFD) - all tasked to report evaluations on repairs and damages, water facilities, sanitation and reconstruction.
While several of the assessed schools have already been opened and operating in December during the BESM, three school buildings inside the main battle area ("ground zero") have been assessed by the team of Deped Usec. Alain Del B. Pascua and were deemed heavily damaged and have to be demolished (Ibango Elementary School, Marawi Central Elementary Pilot School; and Banggolo Elementary School). Rebuilding of most schools inside the restricted area will depend upon the Task Force Bangon Marawi and its masterplan, according to him. Government has started rebuilding efforts in the city, with an initial allocation of P5-billion rehabilitation funding.
BESM was a big event which flew in Secretary Briones via a chopper from Laguindingan Airport in Cagayan de Oro City despite dismal weather. In attendance were Undersecretaries Alain Pascua and Jesus Mateo, Assistant Secretaries Revsee Escobedo and G.H. Ambat, DRRMS Director Ronilda Co, DepEd-Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (Armm) Secretary John Magno, Deped-Armm Assistant Secretaries Alfhadar Pajiji and Marjuni Maddi, Deped Regional Directors, Schools Division Superintendents of Mindanao, and Marawi City Mayor Majul Usman Gandamra who graced the event in Amai Pakpak Central Elementary School.
Officials and personnel of the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Service (DRRMS) of Deped Central Office, DRRM coordinators and engineers of the Regional and Division Offices, and Division of Marawi City formed part of the actual conduct of BESM on December 14 and 15.
They covered 15 schools that already opened classes, implementing BESM in phases to ensure the safety of participants.
In a visit to Camp Bagong Amai Pakpak Elementary School, children were waving flaglets as Sec. Briones cheerfully watched their dance performance. Everyone had smiles on their faces, except for one student that touched everybody's heart. She was crying while dancing. When Sec. Briones asked in concern, she simply replied she wanted Marawi to go back to normalcy.
According to Ronilda Co, chief of the Disaster Risk Reduction Management Service of the Department of Education (Deped) central office, of the 69 public schools in Marawi, 47 are outside the main battle zone and are considered "safe", with most of them resuming classes.
Schools are meant to be Peace Zones, and this emphasis is a nationwide campaign awareness highlighting the slogan "Education Cannot Wait, Education Must Continue."
In the words of Sec. Briones, "Ang bata dili na pahilakon (do not let the children cry)", referring to the trauma they have experienced during the five-month battle between government troops and Isis-inspired terrorists.
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Jojie Alcantara is a long time photojournalist and workshop speaker based in Davao City. Proudly writing for SunStar Davao for more than two decades, in this nest she has grown to become an avid traveler and photographer. Email at jojiealcantara@gmail.com or visit her blog kodakerdabawenya.com.