DepEd starts pooling resources to rebuild schools in Marawi

Black smoke billows from burning houses after an aerial bombing by the Philippine Air Force on militant Islamist positions in Marawi on June 27, 2017.Hundreds of militants, flying the flag of the Islamic State group and backed by foreign fighters, seized swathes of Marawi in the southern region of Mindanao last month, sparking bloody street battles and raising regional concern. (Photo by TED ALJIBE / AFP)

The Department of Education (DepEd) has already started pooling resources that could help it immediately rebuild schools in Marawi that have been ravaged by the ongoing conflict between government troops and Islamic State-inspired terrorists.

On Tuesday, as the conflict entered its fifth week, Education Secretary Leonor Briones said the Department of Education (DepEd) would hold a Brigada Eskwela in Marawi once the military could liberate it from the Maute and Abu Sayyaf terrorist groups that have been holed up there since May 23.

Briones said the initiative would help displaced students and school personnel rebuild their lives and would allow classes to resume once the authorities could declare it safe to do so.

“While we expect that the situation will be resolved in the near future, we also consider the safety and security, not only of our learners and workforce, but of the individuals and organizations that will go the extra mile to ensure the resumption of classes in Marawi,” Briones said in a statement.

“As soon as clearance is given that the city is safe from unexploded ordnance and other security threats, we will mobilize communities and volunteers to rebuild schools,” she added.

Under the weeklong Brigada Eskwela, public schools that have suffered minimal damage would undergo rehabilitation, while those that have suffered substantial damage would be subjected to a structural investigation and thorough intervention assessment.

Briones said that, apart from construction materials, education workers would also need volunteers for the program.

So far, she noted that the Office of the Vice President and Angat-Buhay had given 3,000 chairs, while the DepEd’s External Partnerships Service and World Vision has pulled together 18,000 sets of school supplies.

Among the companies that have already signified their commitment to help rebuild Marawi schools or have turned over donations to DepEd are Aboitiz Foundation, Amway Philippines, Aspen Philippines Inc., Batang Filipino Farmers and CHEERS Foundation, Colgate-Palmolive Philippines, Cosmic Technologies Inc., Dole Philippines Inc., First Consolidated Bank, GMA Kapuso Foundation, and JG Summit Holdings. /atm