‘School repaired fence only after accident’
The metal fence at the third floor of the Lyceum school building where 7-year-old Clifford Montana fell off had not been repaired for over a year, parents and students told Cebu Daily News yesterday.
“It’s already there for a year, they just repaired it after the incident,” a parent who requested anonymity told CDN.
School officials earlier said they will conduct an investigation into last Tuesday’s incident.
The railings, which stand about two meters high, lie on the edge of the hallway of the elementary and high school classrooms of the five-story school building.
Cebu Daily News visited the third floor of the school where Clifford slid and fell off last Tuesday.
The parent said the school administration was aware about the gap on the fence but didn’t do anything about it until after Clifford fell off.
She said the hallway was slippery due to the rains at the time.
A grade 3 teacher, whose classroom is across the newly repaired fence, said the school’s maintenance personnel repaired the gap yesterday morning.
Fresh wielding marks were left on the three newly installed metal bars of the fence.
A visit by Cebu Daily News of the Lyceum school building at Capitol Hills, Cebu City, showed several wielders repairing other metal fences and the metal cover of the school’s sewage system.
“I’m still waiting for the report from the school principal to determine who’s at fault of the incident,” Lyceum president Lito Astillero told CDN over the phone.
Despite this, Clifford’s mother Lucy Booc still blamed the school for Clifford’s accident, saying they should have repaired the metal fence long ago.
“The safety of my son is our priority as of now,” she said.
Lucy said Clifford can already move his hands and feet and respond to conversation a day after being confined at the intensive care unit of the Cebu Doctors’ Hospital.
But Clifford could not yet get up and eat solid meals, consuming only milk.
Astillero said the school will pay for the child’s medical expenses. Reporter Candeze R. Mongaya
