Carmen Copper Corporation officials pose with the pupils of Ima Elementary School outside their newly built classrooms.
cdn photo/Doris C. Bongcac
SURIGAO DEL NORTE
Surigao City — Pupils of the Anao-aon Central School left their classrooms in a bad state when classes ended in March this year.
The around 400 pupils will already occupy either newly rehabilitated classrooms or those that were recently repainted when classes open on Monday.
Anao-aon received on Tuesday four newly rehabilitated classrooms from Carmen Copper Corporation (CCC) that is based in Toledo City, midwest Cebu.
The concrete classrooms built by CCC will replace four old classrooms made from light materials that were damaged by the 6.7-magnitude earthquake which hit Surigao del Norte on February 10, 2017.
Other classrooms that suffered cracks on its concrete walls and ceiling were painted to cover the cracks.
“Gi-pinturahan gyud namo ang mga (We painted the) classrooms in preparation for the opening of classes,” said Dominic Larong, Curriculum Implementation Division (CID) head of the Surigao del Norte Schools Division.
Larong said repainting may be a temporary solution, but this will already make their classrooms look presentable while they await private sector’s help for its rehabilitation.
“But we make sure that these classrooms remain safe for use,” he said in the local language.
Anao-aon Elementary School has a total of 13 classrooms, wherein 12 are used by elementary pupils, while one is used by kindergarten pupils.
The school that is located along the fault line incurred most of the earthquake’s damage.
Its kindergarten, library and property rooms were already condemned after the earthquake. A four-classroom building used by grades 1 and 2 pupils also incurred damage on its roof and wooden walls.
Larong said kinder and grades 1 and 2 pupils continued holding classes on tents after the earthquake and until classes ended in March.
Badly hit
Engr. Felizardo Cal, CCC Engineering and Construction Division head, said they allocated P2 million for the rehabilitation of the four classrooms which they turned over to education and San Francisco town officials on Tuesday afternoon.
During the same visit, CCC officials also turned over a newly built classroom for around 50 students and a new stage to the Ima Elementary School in the neighboring Sison town.
Only one of the school’s four classrooms remained standing after the earthquake.
Two grade levels used to share four classrooms.
After the earthquake, students were asked to report for a two-hour shift per day so they can all be accommodated at the school’s remaining one-storey classroom.
With the addition of the newly rebuilt classroom, Ima students which include indigenous people will now have to use two classrooms when classes start on Monday.
Cal said their company decided to help to the Anao-aon and Ima schools after seeing the damage left by the 6.7-magnitude earthquake.
Cal said they also wanted to help San Francisco Mayor Guia Nimez Plaza-Sabanal who used to be his classmate at the Cebu Institute of Technology.
Sabanal also used to work as executive officer for the late Sammy Darza and helped in the establishment of the City Traffic Operations Management (Citom) in the 1990s.
Cal said they sent a team of engineers to Surigao del Norte to help assess the damage caused by the earthquake on government structures.
On the instructions of CCC president and COO Enrico Nera, the company decided to also help in the rehabilitation and reconstruction of some damaged classrooms in the province. Actual construction work estimated to cost P1.8 million started in March and was completed before the end of May.
Generosity
Joemar Pritos, CCC General Engineering Department head, said their company is guided by the belief that education, livelihood, health and public infrastructure are important development pillars.
“Carmen Copper believes that without the four pillars in a certain area, development is impossible,” he said in his message during the turnover of classrooms to Anao-aon Elementary School.
Pritos said that while the Mining Act of the Philippines requires mining companies to introduce social and development program in host and neighboring localities, CCC has opted to expand their corporate social responsibility to San Francisco and Sison towns in Surigao del Norte.
“We extend beyond what is required by law kay gusto namo ipakita ang among (we want to show our) sincerity,” he said.
Mayor Sabanal said her town would need every help that they would get to recover from the effects of the earthquake.
Sabanal said she came from an exit conference with World Bank and some Italian structural engineers held at the Surigao del Norte provincial capitol before she joined the turnover of classrooms at the Anao-aon Elementary School.
Surigao del Norte local government units are trying to avail of funding assistance from World Bank for the rehabilitation of government structures including their municipal halls that were damaged by the earthquake.
Sabanal said World Bank is now in the final stage of their assessment works. Approved projects will be known in June.