800 CLASSROOMS BUILT, REPAIRED AFTER STORM IN NORTHERN CEBU
The Department of Education (DepEd) has completed repairs and classroom construction in all 114 public schools in northern Cebu that were heavily damaged by typhoon Yolanda five years ago, an official said.
But verification is still ongoing in 17 of the schools to determine if the classrooms there had been completed properly by their contractors, said engineer Noemi Guillen, DepEd 7 physical facilities coordinator.
Guillen said as of last year, around 800 classrooms that were set to replace those destroyed by typhoon Yolanda had already been constructed.
Completed classrooms were those situated in Cluster 1, which is composed of 17 public schools in Tuburan town, with a total construction and repair cost of P14.3 million.
Classrooms in Cluster 2, composed of 12 public schools in Bantayan town, were also completed at a total construction and repair cost of P16 million.
Around P7.2 million was spent for the construction and repair of five public schools in Cluster 3, composed of the island towns of Madridejos and Sta. Fe; while P12.7 million was spent for construction and repair in nine public schools in Cluster 5, composed of Daanbantayan and Medellin.
The bills for new construction and repairs in other clusters were, for Cluster 6 (12 public schools in San Remigio), P16.3 million; Cluster 7 (15 public schools in Tabuelan and Sogod), P10.3 million; and Cluster 8 (13 public schools in Borbon and Tabogon), P10.6 million.
Aside from the schools above, the DepEd is still verifying the completion of classrooms in 17 public schools in three clusters.
Guillen said these schools were already completed and in use, but they want to check if the classrooms were built or repaired by the contractors according to specifications.
These schools are in Cluster 4, composed of 10 public schools in Daanbantayan; Cluster 9, composed of 13 public schools in Catmon, San Francisco, Tudela and Poro; and Cluster 10, composed of eight public schools in Bogo City.
Guillen said it took time for work on some schools, particularly those situated in far-flung barangays, to be finished due to the reluctance of some bidders to undertake the task.