‘PEPITO’ DESTROYS 408 SCHOOLS IN BICOL – DEPED

SOME 408 schools and 244 classrooms were destroyed by Super Typhoon Pepito (international name Man-yi) which struck the region on November 16, the Department of Education (DepEd)-5 on Wednesday said.

According to DepEd-5 Public Affairs Unit (PAU) chief Mayflor Marie Jumamil, the data was based on the Rapid Assessment of Damages Report (RADaR) conducted across various school divisions in the region.

She said the data has been submitted to the central office as part of their reporting and funding requests.

Schools have also been instructed to activate their Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) and medical teams to assess the safety of classrooms and facilities and to implement necessary interventions for those affected.

Jumamil said  among the affected schools were  108 in Catanduanes, 144 in Camarines Sur, 113 in Camarines Norte, and 43 in Naga City.

She said of the 244 classrooms that were completely damaged, 102 are located in  Catanduanes, Camarines Sur, 128; and Camarines Norte, 14.

Also, a total of 3,848 learners were displaced by the super typhoon.

Jumamil added that DepEd-5 has sent its regional DRRM team to Catanduanes to further assess infrastructure damage and address the immediate needs of students and teachers in the hardest-hit areas.

Meanwhile, DepEd-5 Director Gilbert Sadsad said the validation team will focus on the most severely impacted municipalities in Catanduanes, including Pandan, Panganiban, Gigmoto, Caramoran, Bagamanoc, and Viga, until Friday.

DepEd-5 reaffirmed its dedication to maintaining learning continuity despite the series of typhoons that affected the region.