Mandaue gets ready for rainy school opening

The Department of Education (DepEd) in Mandaue City has initiated the declogging of drainage canals with barangay officials to mitigate floods near public schools.

According to Benjamin Tiongson, administrative officer of DepEd in Mandaue City said three of the 49 public schools campuses in the city are flood-prone, namely the Guizo Elementary School, Basak Elementary School and Tipolo National High School.

“As of now, wala paman problema ang mga public schools nato dinhi ug ready na ta for the opening of classes,” Tiongson said.

(As of now, there are no problems yet with public schools. And the schools are ready for the opening of classes.)

Brigada Eskwela 2013, which, started nationwide yesterday will run until May 25. Brigada Eskwela is an annual clean-up of public schools participated in by parents, teachers, students and private groups. It is meant to start the school year with actual classes and no longer to clean up the schools.

Aside from cleaning the drainage canals, the ground floor of school buildings in the flood-prone campuses have already been elevated to prevent floodwater from seeping inside classrooms.

The classrooms on the ground floor from three schools were also cemented to prevent flood water from getting inside the classrooms, Tiongson said.

The classrooms on the ground floor were also cemented to prevent flood water from getting inside the classrooms.

If worst comes to worst, the nine new classrooms which are set for completion at the end of this month in the Mandaue City Central School can be used as temporary classrooms if Guizo Elementary School is flooded, Tiongson added.

The rainy season is expected to start at the end of this month.

Meanwhile, the Mandaue City Peace and Order Council will convene on May 24 to discuss security  for the opening of classes on June 3.

Reelected Mayor Jonas Cortes wants heightened police readiness during the school opening to ensure  the safety of students.

In can be recalled that last March 5, there was an attempt to abduct a third year high school student who was walking in Ibabao-Estancia said Jamaal James Calipayan, executive secretary of Cortes. /Jucell Marie P. Cuyos, Reporter