Metro Manila, Philippines — Over a thousand schools in four regions will delay class opening by at most a week to give way for clean-up activities after the floods.
The Department of Education (DepEd) on Saturday, July 27, said 1,002 schools will skip the July 29 opening.
In Metro Manila, 225 schools or around 27% in the region will open on Aug. 5.
Schools from Malabon, Pasig, Marikina, and Valenzuela will follow this new calendar. Two schools in Navotas, five in Manila, 13 in San Juan, and 15 in Quezon City follow suit.
DepEd said 331 schools in the Ilocos region will begin classes between July 30 to August 5.
In Central Luzon, 442 schools will open after Monday, almost half in Bataan.
Four schools near Liguasan Marsh in Cotabato province in Soccsksargen will also open on Aug. 5.
Education Secretary Sonny Angara earlier listed schools from the Cordillera Administrative Region that would delay class opening.
Angara said there is no blanket postponement of class opening.
“Some schools will really have to postpone their openings kasi maraming aayusin at lilinisin,” he said in a statement on Thursday, July 25. “Pero ‘yung wala o minimal ang damages itutuloy pa rin ang pasukan.”
[Translation: Some schools will really have to postpone their openings because many require repair and clean up. But those schools with no or minimal damages should continue with the opening.]
The combined effects of Typhoon Carina and the southwest monsoon dumped heavy rains that inundated Metro Manila and nearby provinces.
The calamity displaced over 1.1 million people, with more than 250,000 people or around 64,000 families seeking temporary shelter in evacuation centers, disaster management officials said.
