A PUBLIC elementary and secondary school in a mountain barangay of the City of Naga may have to be relocated after it was declared to be in a critical area.
As this developed, Governor Gwendolyn Garcia said the Provincial Government will extend P3 million in cash assistance to the City of Naga to help the latter fund the relocation of the school in Barangay Cantao-an.
In an interview on Tuesday, August 6, 2019, Mayor Valdemar Chiong said around P60 million is needed to build 60 new classrooms for at least 1,500 elementary and high school students.
“I will have to talk to the governor because during the time of the last administration, there was supposed to be P1 million to be extended to the landslide victims. But because it was not given to us, I’m going to ask the governor if it could be released,” Chiong said.
A massive landslide hit Barangay Tina-an on Sept. 20, 2018, killing 78 persons who were all buried alive.
The Capitol, under the administration of former governor and now Vice Governor Hilario Davide III, had promised a P1 million cash aid to the survivors.
Chiong said the financial assistance from the Province would be of great help to Naga, especially for the construction of new classrooms in Cantao-an.
The City Government has already set aside some P30 million for the project. It has also tapped the Department of Education for additional funding.
While the City Government has already identified a relocation site still within Cantao-an, Chiong said they’re waiting for the geological assessment of the area before they proceed with their plans.
For now, classes are divided in the barangay gym and in temporary classrooms built by the City Government.
The mountain barangay of Cantao-an is approximately six kilometers away from the main highway.
At the Capitol, the governor said the financial assistance to Naga will not only be released, but it will also be increased.
Garcia said on Wednesday, August 7, that she had really intended to sit down and talk with Chiong on the matter.
“It’s only right that we help them. What they went through was not easy and I really sympathize with the Naga City Government in what they had to go through and continue (to go through). Even to this day, they are still assisting their constituents and relocating those that are living in the danger zone,” Garcia said. (RTF)