THE Cebu City Council has declared Barangay Sapangdaku under a state of calamity yesterday following the suspension of classes in Sapangdaku Elementary School.
The move was made to ensure the safety of the students after the Guadalupe River overflowed last week.
Earlier, Mayor Michael Rama ordered the school administration to vacate the facility after the incident.
The City intends to transfer the school, which sits beside the Guadalupe River, to a safer site as a long term solution to the problem. The City is considering an area in Sitio Kabarang as a relocation site.
Sapangdaku Barangay Council had also passed a resolution asking for the immediate relocation of the school to a safer place.
The school has 559 students.
The declaration, will allow the use of the City’s calamity fund to finance the construction of the new school.
However, part of the total cost of the new school will be shared by the Special Education Fund under the Local School Board.
In their joint approved resolution, Councilors Dave Tumulak and Gerardo Carillo said that it was already found out that the barangay is a flood-prone area.
The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration has declared last Tuesday as the official start of this year’s rainy season.
The council also directed Department of Engineering and Public Works and the Local School Board to submit recommendation as to the viability of Sitio Kabarang as the new site of the school.
At present, the school is holding classes at Sapangdaku Barangay Hall, which serves as temporary classrooms, while the City has yet to start the construction of the new school.