Walang Pasok: General Santos schools closure extended

COTABATO CITY — The mayor of the earthquake-stricken General Santos City extended the suspension of classes in all schools covered by their city government indefinitely.

General Santos Mayor Lorelie Pacquiao ordered on Tuesday the extension of the shutdown of all schools in the city, a directive superseding her earlier order for the resumption of classes Wednesday.

Pacquiao ordered the closure of all schools in General Santos City immediately after Friday’s strong tremor that jolted the area and nearby provinces.

The mayor was quoted in radio reports on Wednesday morning as saying that the purpose of the extension of the closure of schools is for engineers in the city government to have ample time to finish their inspection of all classrooms for possible damages caused by the earthquake.

“We have to be very cautious about that,” Paquiao, chairperson of the multi-sector General Santos City Disaster Risk and Management Council, said.

Up to nine people in General Santos City and in nearby towns in Sarangani died from injuries caused by the earthquake, according to separate reports by the Police Regional Office-12 and the Office of Civil Defense-12.

Brig. Gen. Jimili Macaraeg, director of PRO-12, said Wednesday that their quick reaction units are still out, supporting the relief missions of local government units in affected areas.

Personnel of the City Engineering Office in Koronadal City, administrative capital of Region 12, have also been inspecting all classrooms in all private and public schools in barangays under its jurisdiction for possible tremor-wrought damages since Monday.

Soldiers under the 73rd Infantry Battalion of the 10th Infantry Division had cleared stretches of a national highway in Glan that got blocked with boulders that rolled down from hillsides as a result of Friday’s earthquake.

Macaraeg said he is thankful to the 10th ID and its counterpart in Region 12, the 6th ID under Major Gen. Alex Rillera, for the continuing support for the joint relief and post-earthquake public safety missions of PRO-12 and the LGUs in General Santos City and Sarangani.