MANILA, Philippines — Why did a school in Nueva Ecija sustain heavy damage during the onslaught of Super Typhoon Karding but houses around it were spared?
This was the question Senator Robinhood Padilla wanted the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to answer during the Senate finance subcommittee’s deliberations on the proposed DPWH budget for 2023 on Thursday.
Padilla noted that many of the houses around the Malimba Elementary School in Gapan, Nueva Ecija were probably built without using the skills of engineers and architects. However, Padilla said that despite this, these houses survived Karding’s strong winds.
The senator asked DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan why the school — which should have been the product of great engineering minds — sustained damage to its gymnasium and roofings.
“Meron lang po akong gustong ipakita po sa inyo na mga larawan na nagbigay po sa akin ng palaisipan ito. Napaka— hindi po ako nakatulog sa larawan na ito […] ito po ay nangyari no’ng nakaraang bagyo sa Nueva Ecija, ito po ay isang paaralan doon, tignan niyo po nang mabuti, nagkagutay-gutay po ‘yong paaralan,” Padilla said.
(I want to show you something. These are images that got me thinking. I could not get any sleep because of these photos. These happened during the last typhoon in Nueva Ecija. This is a school there, look at what happened. The school was destroyed.)
“Pero ‘yon pong mga katabi niyang bahay na masasabi po natin na ito pong mga bahay, mga katabi niyang bahay, karamihan po d’yan ay walang arkitekto, walang engineer, sila-sila lang po ang gumawa, ayos. ‘Yoon pong paaralan at ‘yoon pong gym, nabalikuko po lahat ang mga bakal parang dumaan po d’yan ang kalaban ni Superman at inikot-ikot. ‘Yan po ang nangyari,” he added.
(But the adjacent houses, many of which we can say were built without architects or engineers. The owners were the ones who built the houses. They are still standing. But in the school and the gym, the metal parts are twisted as if they were tossed around by the enemies of Superman. That is what happened.)
Sen. Robinhood Padilla. (Voltaire F. Domingo/Senate PRIB)
Padilla asked Bonoan if the DPWH assigns an inspector to check the quality of materials used in the construction of classrooms, adding that the materials used could have been substandard.
In response, the DPWH chief said the issue should be investigated because he himself is confused why the school building was damaged.
“Kailangan po kung ganito ang nangyari dito sa lugar na ito, kailangan lang po maimbestiga ito kung ano ba ang nangyari dito, kasi kataka-taka naman po talaga na nag-iisa naman po ‘yong nasira — well if it is a school building o kaya gymnasium po ito, and patignan po natin,” Bonoan said.
(This should be investigated if this is what really happened in this area. It is surprising why the school building was the only one destroyed — well, if it is a school building or a gymnasium, we would have this looked into.)
“We cannot tolerate actually ‘yong hindi naman natin pababayaan po na substandard po ‘yong ginagamit (we would not allow substandard materials to be used),” he added.
Senator Cynthia Villar meanwhile commented that the Senate panel should know first whether the DPWH built the gymnasium and the classrooms. She added that there are some instances where local government units or even some donors are behind the construction of a school facility.
“I just want to intercede ah, hindi lahat ng projects sa mga eskwelahan ginawa ng DPWH, may local ‘yan, so we have to find out kung kayo gumawa n’yan or ‘yong local ang gumawa niyan or some other people. Kasi nagtutulungan tayo sa eskwelahan, hindi lahat DPWH, ‘yon lang,” she noted.
(I just want to intercede, the DPWH constructed not all projects for public schools. Some of them were built by DPWH, so we have to find out if you (DPWH) did that, the local government, or some other people. Because we try to help each other build classrooms, so that’s not all on DPWH.)
Still, Padilla said the DPWH should check on its construction even if other governments or private agencies were behind it as it is a public school building.
Bonoan answered that they have local teams to check on it. He added after Super Typhoon Yolanda’s onslaught in Eastern Visayas, school buildings can now withstand wind speeds of up to 350 kilometers per hour.
“Wala pong nagche-check up niyan, kung sino po? Wala po, kahit na halimbawa po hindi kayo ang gumawa, wala pong nagche-check up? Kasi papaano po kung may naaksidente po d’yan, papaano po kung merong namatay d’yan, nabagsakan, naikutan ng bakal, ‘yon lang po ang concern ko,” Padilla said.
(No one checked that? No one, even if, for example, it is not DPWH who constructed that, no one would check it out. But what if an accident happened? What if somebody died because they were crushed by debris? That is my concern.)
“Nando-doon din po ‘yong municipal engineers nila and I agree with the good Senator that we need to investigate actually what has happened here, I think, I hope that this is just an isolated case kasi marami naman po kaming ginawa, ginagawa ng DPWH that has withstand actually ‘yong effect of ‘yong mga malalakas na bagyo na nakaraan,” he noted.
(There are municipal engineers there and I agree with good Senator that we need to investigate actually what has happened here, I think, I hope that this is just an isolated case because we in the DPWH have constructed projects that have withstood the effect of the strong typhoons of the past.)
Karding, from being forecast to hit Cagayan Valley in late September, moved towards Central and Southern Luzon instead, making landfall in Quezon province. The cyclone then moved towards Nueva Ecija, Bulacan, and Pampanga — the province that suffered the most damage.
READ: Super Typhoon Karding makes landfall in Quezon
READ: Luzon, Metro Manila bear brunt of Karding’s impact