Summary:
Construction of 252 temporary learning shelters across Cebu Province will begin by mid-June to replace classrooms damaged by a magnitude 6.9 earthquake and typhoon Tino in 2025.
The program was reduced from 269 classrooms because the approved ₱295.9 million budget could not cover the higher logistical costs of transporting materials to island-based schools.
Project focal person Christopher Baricuatro will submit a supplemental budget on June 2 for the remaining island classrooms, targeting completion of the 252 units by late July.
CONSTRUCTION of 252 temporary learning shelters (TLS) across Cebu Province will begin by mid-June to augment schools with classrooms damaged by the 2025 twin disasters.
The initial rollout will proceed with a slight delay for island-based schools because of a budget shortfall caused by unforeseen logistical expenses in transporting construction materials to the islands.
Christopher Baricuatro, executive assistant and focal person of the Provincial School Board, said the program was originally divided into 35 lots for the construction of 269 temporary classrooms. However, the approved P295.9 million budget, which allocates roughly P1.1 million per classroom, could only cover 33 lots.
“I didn’t take into account that TLS is more expensive if you contract it in the islands,” Baricuatro said in an interview on Friday, May 22, 2026. “So, the budget was short.”
The project aims to address classroom damage caused by the magnitude 6.9 earthquake off Bogo City on Sept. 30, 2025, and typhoon Tino on Nov. 4, 2025. Because of the funding deficit, construction of TLS units in island areas will instead be covered through a supplemental budget.
Baricuatro said the supplemental budget for the remaining classrooms will be submitted to the Provincial School Board during its scheduled meeting on June 2 and will require approval from the Provincial Board.
Since each TLS is designed as a single-classroom structure, construction is expected to take 30 to 45 days, with the province targeting completion and ribbon-cutting ceremonies by the end of July.
The TLS units will be built within existing school grounds, eliminating the need for the province to acquire additional lots.
The Department of Education in Central Visayas identified the recipient sites based on urgency, prioritizing areas with the most severe classroom shortages. Local government units provided spaces within existing school grounds for the structures.
Apart from the temporary shelters, the Provincial Government is preparing a long-term infrastructure project involving two-story “smart buildings.”
The province plans to construct 51 smart buildings, allocating one for each municipality in Cebu Province. Each building will contain four smart classrooms. / CDF