Landslide risk keeps school closed in Pantukan

DAVAO CITY—Classes at  Panganason Elementary School in Pantukan, Compostela Valley province, has not started as of Tuesday, two days after the start of the new school year in the rest of the country.

Jenielito Atillo, information officer of the Department of Education (DepEd) in Southern Mindanao, said the school was not opened following an advice from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB).

Atillo said the MGB had warned that opening the school, which is in a mining village that had its share of landslides in the past, could endanger the lives of its 250 pupils and teachers because it sits on a geohazard risk area.

He said the MGB advised the DepEd to relocate the school, but no relocation site has been identified by the local government unit.

“The children could not just be moved to another school because the nearest one is actually several kilometers away from the community,” he said.

Atillo said the local government of Pantukan is aware of the problem.

“So far, this is the major issue that we need to address during the opening of classes,” said Atillo.

The school year started as scheduled last Monday in other schools in the region, he said.

He said in the region, 50,175 children are enrolled in kindergarten, 487,497 in elementary and 176,652 in high school.

The number was expected to increase as public schools in Southern Mindanao are still accepting enrollees. Ayan C. Mellejor, Inquirer Mindanao