MMDA sends team to fix, build classrooms in areas ravaged by ‘Pablo’

MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino

MANILA, Philippines—The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority has sent a 60-member team to the provinces of Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental, which were hit hardest by Typhoon “Pablo” last December, to help in the repair of damaged classrooms and the construction of new ones.

MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino in a statement on Monday said part of the aid, amounting to P1 million, came from the earnings generated by the Metro Manila Film Festival last year.

“With the help of the proceeds from last year’s Metro Manila Film Festival and donations, we were able to fund this endeavor and provide the necessary resources to help Davao and Compostela Valley recuperate from the destruction of Pablo,” Tolentino said in the statement.

The MMDA team will assist in the repair and construction of classrooms which the two provinces badly need. For more than a week since Feb. 28, the team had completed the repair of at least six classrooms.

Last December, Tolentino went to Mindanao and personally headed the rescue operations.

“Our brothers and sisters in Mindanao, especially the children need all the help they can get, having gone through one of the most destructive typhoons in history,” Tolentino said.

The MMDA and MMFF management had also donated P1 million to the communities of Iligan City and Cagayan De Oro, which were devastated by floods spawned by Tropical Storm “Sendong” in December 2011.