P1.5M needed to rebuild 4 classrooms, daycare center

SAGBAYAN Municipal Hall, which badly needs rebuilding Photo by Tessa R. Salazar

The 7.2-magnitude earthquake that hit Bohol and other parts of Cebu province on October 15 disrupted not only the everyday lives of many Filipinos, but also put to a halt the schooling of many children in the affected areas where their classrooms were toppled over or damaged.

The four classrooms of the Katipunan Elementary School, 4.5 kilometers from the town center of Sagbayan, had been declared as unsafe to use after the earthquake. The neighboring daycare center was also declared unsafe.

Katipunan Elementary School has 123 students, while the daycare center has 23 children below the age of 6.

KATIPUNAN school building declared unsafe. Photo by Babes Good

This writer visited the Sagbayan community on December 13 as part of the Inquirer Read-Along storytelling session. The students recounted their harrowing earthquake stories through a song.

The school’s head teacher, Samuel Anosa, said the children now attend classes in crowded, noisy tents. He added that the children

were getting sick from exposure to the elements while attending classes. Anosa and the students’ parents are hoping to be able to get help from generous builders to reconstruct the classrooms.

Inquirer Property was able to secure a copy of the detailed project specifications and estimates of building the four classrooms (excluding the daycare center). The project cost estimate—prepared by the Philippine Business for Social Progress Visayas Regional Center in Cebu City for a Japanese construction company who eventually withdrew from the project—was P1,320,311.53.

THIS PARTIALLY damaged chapel was allowed for use during the Dec. 13 Inquirer Read-Along session. Photo by Tessa R Salazar

The cost of each classroom, measuring 7 meters by 9 meters was pegged at P660,155.767.

The detailed project specification included the general requirements, materials and procedures to be done for earthworks, concrete works, formworks and scaffoldings, masonry works, carpentry works, finish hardware, doors and windows, roofing and roof framing works, finishing works, electrical works, painting works, total materials costs and total labor costs.

According to Anosa, some students were still too traumatized by the temblor and the aftershocks to attend classes. The school officials and the studentry were also still grieving over four of its students who died during the earthquake.

The Sagbayan community is also hoping that builders, developers or construction companies would be able to help build calamity-proof classrooms for these children.

E-mail the author at [email protected] if you’re interested to help the children of Sagbayan.