CALASIAO, Pangasinan, Philippines -- Wet books and makeshift classrooms greeted students Tuesday as they trooped back to school in Pangasinan, a province that took the brunt of devastation wrought by tropical storm "Cosme" (international codename: Halong) last month.

"It's as if I don't know where to start," said Virginia Laconsay, a Grade 4 of Bued East Elementary School here.

She lost her classroom to Cosme, including teaching aids and books, and has to hold classes at the Home Economics building that was spared by the storm.

"I told my students that we should be patient with each other, and should make [the most of] what we have," Laconsay said.

She helped her students dry books under the sun on Tuesday.

Laconsay said the students have to dry the books as they have nothing to use until a shipment of books from the Department of Education (DepEd) arrives.

In the nearby village of Cabilocaan, village captain Cesar Legaspi said classes opened but these have to be conducted by shifts because eight classrooms were destroyed by the storm.

Mayor Roy Macanlalay said makeshift classrooms could not be built in the school because even the covered court was destroyed.

In San Carlos City, classes failed to open as scheduled in Payar and Tamayo elementary schools, according to Dr. Rowena Banzon, city schools division superintendent.

The schools, which were damaged during the storm's onslaught, are still undergoing repairs.

Except in two public elementary schools, classes opened in Dagupan City as scheduled.

Dr. Aurora Domingo, city schools division superintendent, said the opening of classes in the Dagupan City East Central and Pantal elementary schools had to be rescheduled for June 16 because of the ongoing repairs of school buildings there.

She said the floor levels of the classrooms in both schools are being elevated because these get flooded every time there is a high tide.

Dr. Alma Ruby Torio, Pangasinan schools division superintendent, said the school opening in the western and central Pangasinan towns that were hit by the storm went well.

"I have created an action center to receive concerns and feedbacks, but so far, we have not received any complaint," Torio said.

At least 605 classrooms were destroyed and 1,027 were damaged when Cosme crossed the province from the South China Sea.

In Central Luzon, except in Sta. Cruz, Zambales, the opening of classes in all seven provinces in Central Luzon on Tuesday turned out to be orderly, according to Mario Ramirez, regional director of the Department of Education.

Classes in Sta. Cruz have yet to start as the repair of 27 school buildings there has not been completed, according to Ramirez. Those were damaged by strong winds and rains by Cosme on May 19.

"I talked to the superintendent there and she said classes will be opened not later than July 14. I also received assurances that as soon as the repairs are done, they would start classes," Ramirez said.

He said classes there would be held on Saturdays so students can complete the 205 school days in a year.

On Tuesday, 1.3 million elementary students trooped to public schools in the 17 divisions of the DepEd in the region. Private schools reported an initial enrolment of 216,000.

In the secondary level, 509,141 students enrolled in public schools.

In Nueva Ecija, police officials established checkpoints near big schools in Cabanatuan City to protect students from pickpockets.

Many students were also observed wearing their old uniforms despite announcement by school officials that wearing these is now optional.

In the Cordillera, social welfare officials started wrapping up a survey to determine the 10,000 beneficiaries of the Ahon Pamilyang Pilipino (APP) subsidy in Apayao and Abra.

The APP is a grant subsidy that could be suspended if government discovers that beneficiaries have failed to keep their children enrolled in school or have not availed of medical care in public health facilities.

Hiyasmin Zambrano, public information officer of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), said the subsidies would be distributed this month.

Government would send P500 monthly to the Apayao and Abra beneficiaries, she said. The beneficiaries are also receiving P300 for each of their children, who are in school, although the grant is limited to only the first three children of each household, she said.

"There are towns in Apayao with no banks, so government is looking for an alternative way to send the monthly subsidies," she said.

About 215,000 grade school pupils and about 90,000 high school students went to school on Tuesday in the region, according to the DepEd Cordillera.

In Isabela, about 10,000 students returned to school but DepEd officials noted the lack of chairs and desks in some schools in the province.