Mindanao quake exposes schools’ infrastructure risk — analyst
MANILA, Philippines — As a magnitude 7.8 earthquake in Mindanao damaged schools set to welcome thousands of students at the opening of the school year, a data scientist pointed out how infrastructure risk systematically affects education.
Data from the Department of Education (DepEd) as of Monday, June 8, showed 8,642 schools across 43 divisions in six regions in Mindanao were hit by the earthquake that struck off Maasim, Sarangani, at 7:37 a.m.
READ: DepEd: Schools hit by Mindanao earthquake rise to 8,642
DepEd said this resulted in the disruption of classes for 4.9 million learners and 156,282 school personnel in Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Davao Region, Soccsksargen, Caraga Region, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
For Dr. Alicor Panao, a data scientist for the Inquirer, “while often treated as isolated news events, these disruptions are part of a measurable pattern of infrastructure vulnerability that systematically affects education.”
Panao cited estimates from the Global Infrastructure Risk Model and Resilience Index, published by the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, indicating that schools in the Philippines face approximately US$299.6 million in annual expected earthquake losses.
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Panao, an associate professor at the University of the Philippines Diliman, said this makes education the second most exposed sector after buildings (US$1.55 billion) and well above other critical systems, including power (US$164.2 million), roads and railways (US$95.4 million), telecommunications (US$75.1 million), and water systems (US$38.1 million).
“Schools alone account for nearly double the expected earthquake losses of the entire power sector and more than three times those of telecommunications infrastructure,” he said.
For Panao, these comparisons suggest that school vulnerability is not marginal but structurally significant within national disaster risk.
READ: Mindanao earthquake death toll climbs to 37; 479 injured – NDRRMC
“Damage to schools also carries distinct consequences,” he said. “Each disrupted classroom means lost instructional time, compressed learning, and cumulative setbacks that are difficult to recover.”
He said that, unlike most infrastructure, schools generate human capital, meaning losses are long-term and not fully offset by reconstruction.
“Indirect economic losses from infrastructure disruption can exceed direct physical damage multiple times over, especially in education where learning losses translate into reduced attainment and opportunities,” Panao said. /dm
