Cracks in school building prompt calls for return to old site
BAYAMBANG, Pangasinan—The Parents-Teachers Association (PTA) of the Bayambang Central School (BCS) has asked Education Secretary Armin Luistro to return the school to its old campus after the building in the relocation site showed cracks in its concrete beams and walls, endangering the lives of students and teachers there.
In a letter on Feb. 20, PTA president Filipinas Alcantara and other officials attached pictures and video footage of the BCS building’s cracked walls and beams.
“We are in danger. Our children are in danger. We are under the umbrella of your department and we seek your immediate help and utmost understanding,” Alcantara said in the letter to Luistro.
The school was temporarily transferred to a new site in Bical Norte here in October 2014 after a court ordered its relocation. Mayor Ricardo Camacho asked the court for the transfer, citing dengue cases among children and flooding in the old campus.
“It has been a year and more than four months since our temporary transfer to the [new campus] when a temporary restraining order was issued by the court. Since that day, we have seen many cracks on the walls and beams,” Alcantara said in the letter.
Municipal engineer Eddie Melicorio, after an inspection of the building last week, recommended that BCS vacate at least four rooms, which, he said, could collapse because of sagging beams.
On Monday, the Grade 3–A class was transferred to another room because the teacher and the parents feared the room could collapse anytime.
“We cannot gamble with the lives of students,” said BCS principal Corazon Cayabyab, who agreed to the transfer to ensure the safety of students.
Melicorio said the rooms of Grade 3-A, the adjoining room occupied by Grade 3-H and two other classrooms should be vacated so these could be repaired.
He said the second floor could give way if it carried additional load and should an earthquake strike.
“But it is repairable. Not all construction is perfect. But we need to have a copy of the building plan so we would know what to do,” Melicorio said.
He said his office issued a permit to the building owned by businessman Willy Chua but the engineer’s office has no copy of the plan.
Chua owns the building at the new school site, which was being swapped with the old BCS campus at the Bayambang town center.
In a letter sent to Chua, Melicorio cited at least 38 major and minor defects in the 60-classroom building, including cracked wall partitions, leaking pipe fittings in the bathrooms, defective toilet bowls and broken or damaged windows.
“These are temperature cracks which are hairline in dimension, but there are really big cracks which are dangerous,” he said. Yolanda Sotelo, Inquirer Northern Luzon
