Cebu City schools told: Submit your disaster programs

CEBU, Philippines - With classes already starting in select public and private schools this Monday, the Cebu City Council last Wednesday asked schools to submit their respective disaster preparedness and response plans to help minimize if not prevent the loss of lives during calamities.

After the magnitude 7.2 earthquake that displaced hundreds of people and super typhoon Yolanda that killed thousands in Cebu last year, the city government has been urging educational institutions to adopt precautionary measures to safeguard the welfare of students.

The council likewise requested all public and private elementary and secondary schools, colleges and universities in the city to institutionalize the regular conduct of fire and earthquake drills “to properly prepare students to respond when disaster strike and to prevent the loss of life and property.”

The Cebu City Local Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office and the Local Disaster Risk and Reduction Management Council will check and monitor whether the school’s preparedness plans and measures are in accordance with the existing disaster standards and guidelines. 

City Councilor Alvin Dizon, a council committee on education member, said the schools are considered as among the critical areas or structures during disasters as school children are one of the vulnerable sectors in cases of disasters.

“Disaster preparedness is always the key to prevent the loss of lives and damage to properties, but this requires the collective effort and cooperation of the local government, the private sector and civil society,” he said.

Dizon said the city needs the cooperation of all the sectors of society in implementing preparedness measures as the city has some constraints on “financial, technical and administrative” aspects.

These constraints, he said, often limit the capacities of the local government units to capacitate all sectors of society on preparedness measures.

“Thus, there is a need for the private sector and civil society to help initiate and institutionalize disaster preparedness measures in their respective establishments and areas for as long as these are properly coordinated with the local government,” Dizon said.

The integration of disaster risk reduction and management education in Cebu City is yet to be implemented despite the passage of Republic Act 10121 (the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management) in 2010.

Section 14 of RA 10121 mandates that the Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education incorporate disaster risk reduction and management education in the school curricula of secondary and tertiary levels, including the National Service Training Program; private or public, formal and non-formal, indigenous learning, and out-of-school youth courses and programs.

That is why the Cebu City Council urged Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education to integrate the program in all educational institutions in the city starting June.

Likewise, the schools would be required to hold safety and emergency drills, especially to elementary and kindergarten pupils.

Meanwhile, former  city councilor Jose Daluz III said the Local School Board is setting aside P22 million for the construction of fire exits in different school buildings in preparation for the school opening.

Construction will start next week with nine to 10 constructors and engineers working together set up the fire exits.

The school board, which Daluz heads, is spending P22 million of its P50-million savings.

Daluz said schools with two to three floors are to be prioritized in the setting up of steel chairs for the fire exit.  In particular, he identified Abellana National School, Cebu City Central School, and both the elementary  and high school of Barangay Guadalupe as priority schools.

Daluz said that he is waiting for the report of their engineers as to how many fire exits are need to be set up in the different school buildings and how much funds would be allocated.

“There are already reports from the engineering but ato pa i-confirm og pila na lang ang wala pa nahimo-i. I think more than half pa jud ang wala pa ma himo-i.”  Daluz said.

He said they will conduct a meeting to finalize the construction.  (FREEMAN)