ALMOST three months after the 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck Visayas, Cebu City still has to finish the repair of the more than 500 classrooms that have been damaged by the tremor.
The Department of Education (DepEd) Cebu City Division Superintendent Rhea Mar Angtud yesterday said the repairs are still ongoing.
Mayor Michael Rama earlier directed DepEd and the local school board to finish all the repairs of the classrooms before 2013 ended.
When the earthquake hit Cebu and Bohol, 531 of the 3,445 classrooms in the public elementary and secondary schools in the city had to be repaired.
Those that were severely damaged included Kalunasan Elementary School, Labangon Elementary School, San Nicolas Elementary School, Gothong Memorial National High School, Camp Lapu-Lapu Elementary School, Apas National High School, Tejero Elementary School and Barrio Luz Elementary School.
In an interview, Angtud said schools that are undergoing repair are the Gothong Memorial National High School, Labangon Elementary School and Tejero Elementary School.
Asked when they will be able to complete the repair, Angtud said they don’t have a timeline, considering the major work needed.
DepEd said that 43 of Gothong’s 78 classrooms were damaged; 14 of the 72 rooms in Labangon have to be fixed, while 50 of Tejero’s 74 classrooms were damaged.
Apart from asking DepEd to speed up the repair, Rama reminded them to install emergency exits in the repaired buildings.
The repair of the classrooms costs P30 million. It was charged to the City’s more than P200-million Special Education Fund last year.