THE Department of Education in Central Visayas (DepEd 7) navigates to keep pace with rehabilitation efforts for public schools damaged by the September 30 earthquake and Typhoon Tino in November, citing depleted funds and a shortage of technical personnel.
Regional Director Dr. Salustiano Jimenez said during a press conference on Thursday, December 18, that around P1.2 billion has been allocated for calamity response and has been released so far. This was far below the region’s P5.5 billion requested funds for the repair and rehabilitation of damaged schools across the province.
“Dili pa gani mi kaabot og one-fourth sa among gikinahanglan nga pondo,” Jimenez said, warning that available funds for the school year 2025 are nearly exhausted even as damage assessments continue.
DepEd 7 is pushing for additional funding by 2026, where he expects the commencement of major repairs and construction of new classroom next year.
Earthquake-hit areas prioritized
Following the 6.9-magnitude earthquake that struck near Bogo City, Cebu on September 30, DepEd 7 prioritized Bogo and neighboring northern Cebu towns.
Jimenez said Quick Response (QR) funds have already been approved, amounting to P600 million for Bogo City and P500 million for other affected provinces in Central Visayas.
Schools in other areas were also damaged but were not immediately covered under the first wave of funding, he said.
Earlier DepEd 7 data showed that around 200 public schools were affected by the earthquake. Initial assessments conducted in mid-October found about 500 classrooms totally destroyed, 700 with major damage, and over 2,000 with minor damage, with estimated losses of around P4 billion.
Jimenez previously described the damage as worse than that caused by Typhoon Odette (Rai) in 2021.
Aside from funding constraints, Jimenez said DepEd 7 faces a lack of structural engineers, including within DPWH, slowing down building assessments.
“Bisan ang DPWH, kulang og structural engineers,” he said, noting that tapping the private sector is being considered to speed up evaluations.
Some school sites have been declared unsafe such as the Hagnaya Integrated Elementary School in Barangay Hagnaya, San Remigio.
The school can no longer be used after Phivolcs and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) identified a sinkhole in the area.
Jimenez said DepEd is now coordinating with the local government unit and the DepEd central office for the school’s relocation.
He added that limited buildable space was also among the identified challenges for some schools with similar situations, particularly in hazard-prone areas.
With funding woes and limited space, Jimenez said that the DepEd 7 is exploring public-private partnership (PPP) options for school construction and even restoration of damaged classrooms or lost equipment and learning materials.
DepEd 7 is urging local government units and non-government organizations to assist in school repairs and restoration within their areas.
“Kinahanglan gyud og tabang sa LGUs ug NGOs,” he said, as the region continues to recover from successive calamities.
Typhoon Tino worsens
Damage from Typhoon Tino, which hit Cebu Province on November 4, further increased the number of affected classrooms, with some schools that have initially reported minor damages have been leveled up to major or even total damage.
Jimenez said damage reports for Tino-hit schools have been endorsed to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for possible additional funding.
He said schools in Talisay City and Liloan town were quickly cleared, while assessments are still ongoing in Lusaran, Cebu City.
DepEd 7 is also accounting for lost laptops and other school equipment, with gaps expected to be addressed by the first quarter of 2026.
While repairs and assessments are ongoing, DepEd 7 rely on Temporary Learning Spaces (TLS) and modular or blended learning to catch up with the disruption in the school days.
Jimenez pointed out that face-to-face classes remain essential.
TLS installation is still being finalized in coordination with local government units (LGUs), including proposals for modular TLS that can be deployed more quickly, he added.
Jimenez said less than 10 percent of classrooms regionwide were affected, involving four to five schools per division, but the disruption is significant, with around 700,000 students affected across Central Visayas.
Learning backlogs have reached up as high as 30 days in some schools. Any extension of required 200 class days, he said, will be decided on a case-to-case basis, depending on local conditions. (EHP)