15 Quezon City public schools to defer opening of classes

MANILA, Philippines — While most public schools in Quezon City are ready for school opening on Monday, some will postpone the start of classes in the aftermath of the recent flooding that affected Metro Manila and nearby areas.

Mayor Joy Belmonte said 143 public elementary and high schools are ready for school opening.

Fifteen, however, will have to defer the start of the school year due to damage or because they are still being used as evacuation centers.

Based on a division memorandum cited by Belmonte, 11 schools will open on Aug. 1 as they are currently being used as evacuation centers.

These include Sto. Cristo Elementary School, Balumbato ES, Cong. Reynaldo Calalay ES, Sinagtala ES, San Francisco ES, Dalupan ES Diosdado P. Macapagal ES, Rosa L. Susano ES, Odelco ES, Josefa Jara Martinez High School and Sta. Lucia High School HS.

Meanwhile, classes in Betty Go Belmonte ES, Masambong ES, Masambong HS and Sergio Osmena Sr. HS will start on Aug. 5 because of damaged sustained due to the heavy rainfall and flooding.

“Saturday classes will be conducted in these schools to make up for the lost days,” Belmonte said in Filipino.

Except for these 15 schools, the mayor said it’s all systems go for the opening of classes in 84 public elementary and 59 public high schools in the city.

The city government said it continues to provide support to residents who are still in evacuation centers. Cleanup is also ongoing in areas affected by the floods.

Manila will start classes as scheduled on Monday despite 60 percent of the city being flooded as Typhoon Carina battered the country, Mayor Honey Lacuna-Pangan said yesterday.

In a radio interview, she also noted that five schools would defer the opening of classes by a day as these were being used as evacuation centers.

She did not name the schools being used as temporary shelters for residents affected by the flooding caused by rains brought by Carina and the southwest monsoon.

Most of the 4,384 flood-hit families have gone home while some are still staying at the evacuation centers in Baseco and Delpan, Lacuna-Pangan said.

The two centers were used by families whose homes in Isla Puting Bato and Parola Compound were