Mindanao schools crumble after quakes

WRECKED Students of San Isidro Elementary School in Makilala town, Cotabato, are left without classrooms after strong earthquakes last month destroyed school buildings in several provinces in Mindanao. —ERWIN MASCARIÑAS

KIDAPAWAN CITY, Cotabato, Philippines — Agusan del Norte Rep. Lawrence Lemuel Fortun has called for a House probe of the massive destruction of school buildings and other facilities in the region due to the series of earthquakes last month, saying many of these were newly constructed and could have withstood intense ground shaking.

Fortun, a member of the House committee on Mindanao affairs, said the investigation must cover the government’s school building program in light of the quake-induced devastation in Mindanao.

The series of earthquakes killed 24 people, injured more than 500 and left at least 10 missing, mostly believed to be buried by landslides triggered by the temblors.

“It is very alarming. How come most of the [newly built] schools in the area incurred damages? These school buildings are supposed to be disaster resilient,” Fortun asked.

Although he did not cite figures, Fortun said information reaching him showed that the cost of constructing these new structures was higher compared to older buildings because of what he described as their disaster resiliency features.

These school buildings were made of durable materials and were supposed to withstand extreme conditions, including the impact of climate change, he said.

Damage at P3.3B

A compilation of rapid assessment reports sent to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council accounted close to 2,000 schools that sustained varying degrees of damage due to the series of earthquakes that jolted Mindanao last month.

On Tuesday, the Department of Education (DepEd) said 1,047 schools were destroyed by the quakes, with property damage estimated at P3.3 billion.

Soccsksargen (South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, General Santos) region suffered the most with 670 schools damaged or destroyed. It was followed by Davao region, with 274 schools; Northern Mindanao, 82; and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, 21.

In Kidapawan City, the series of tremors last month damaged or destroyed 65 of the city’s 83 schools.

An assessment by DepEd engineers showed 93 classrooms were destroyed, 308 had major damage, and 312 had minor damage. Three new buildings of Kidapawan City National High School were declared off-limits due to structural integrity questions.

Mayor Joseph Evangelista said he was surprised that most of the school buildings that suffered heavy damage were newly built.

Design problem?

“I’ve talked to the mayors of Tulunan and Makilala (in Cotabato province), and I surmised that all of their new [school] buildings suffered damage—most of the ceilings collapsed, there were several cracks on the columns, and the walls also gave way,” Evangelista said.

“We think there is a problem in the design, something must be wrong with the design. I don’t want to cast doubts, for now, on the contractors. But these should be looked into,” he added.

In Ozamiz City, teachers and students of Ozamiz City National High School said large cracks were observed in at least 20 classrooms, most of these newly built, following the Oct. 31 earthquake.

Fortun saw the need to look into how the Department of Public Works and Highways implemented the construction of school buildings.

“Did the contractors follow standards? If not, how come they were able to pass the scrutiny of the DPWH?” Fortun asked.