Items lost, damaged in Mandaue school used as isolation center

Several items were lost from the Mandaue City Central School when it was returned to the DepEd after being used as an isolation center last year. CDN Digital photo | Mary Rose Sagarino

MANDAUE CITY, Cebu—Several items were either damaged, dismantled, or went missing at the Mandaue City Central School, which was used by the city government as an isolation unit for residents who tested positive for COVID-19 last year.

The city government started using the school May last year and was turned over back to the Department of Education (DepEd) at the end of June 2021. This is when school officials noticed the missing or damaged items from the school.

School principal Dr. Alma Bardaquillo said that they are still awaiting for other teachers to report if they have things that were either  damaged or missing.

But based on their initial report from some of the teachers, their things that were damaged and dismantled were stand fans, industrial fans, TV, doors, tiles, among others.

Some teachers of the school said these things were still working before they left them last year. 

Those that were missing included two laptops, rice cookers, pots, ladles, a stove, an electric kettle, speakers, a curtain and even some potted plants.

Bardaquillo said she instructed the teachers to get their belongings before it was used as an isolation center but some weren’t able to do so since there was no transportation available at that time due to the lockdowns.

“Pag ingun nila nga ang tibuok school na ang gamiton, ni text dayun ko sa among group chat nga whatever valuables sa inyong classrooms, kwaon jud ninyo kay wala ta kahibaw sa mo occupy sa room. Ang nawad-an (ug laptop) taga Liloan, wala ka ari kay walay sakyanan. Wala man jud tuy sakyanan kay total lockdown,” said Bardaquillo. 

She added that when some teachers were able to travel, they couldn’t anymore enter the school since it was already used as an isolation center.

“Ang grabe ang amoang mga electric fan gipangkwaan og bronze, naa toy bag-o nga electric fan donated to sa parent, gibungkag gikwaan sad og bronze. Di man sad nato makuan kay ang admitted dinhi kay lahi-lahi og background,” she added. 

Bardaquillo said they will be sending a report  about the matter to the local government unit of Mandaue next week.

When asked for a comment on this issue, Lawyer John Eddu Ibañez, executive secretary of Mandaue City Mayor Mayor Jonas Cortes, said that they will give a statement as soon as they receive the report from the school.

Lawyer Lizer Malate, head of the city’s Emergency Operations Center, said the school was turned over back to DepEd because teachers were already needed it and the city’s active cases that time already dropped.

Dr. Nimfa Bongo, the school’s superintendent, said the turnover would help the teachers a lot as they will no longer need to occupy rooms from the Mandaue City Central Special Education (SPED) building that is located at the back portion of the school’s compound.

Before, teachers were only occupying six classrooms.

The MCCS has 125 teachers, including Bardaquillo. 80 percent of the teachers are physically reporting to work.

Bardaquillo assured that minimum health protocols were implemented during the time and added that none of the teachers tested positive for COVID-19.

She is hoping that the city won’t be needing the school anymore and that the cases would not rise. 

Malate said if ever cases will increase, the city already has a partnership with accommodation establishments and hotels who can accommodate asymptomatic COVID-19 patients. 

The city now only has two isolation facilities that are located at the old North Bust Terminal compound in Barangay Subangdaku and the Norkis Park that is located a few meters away from MCCS. Each facility could cater a maximum of 100 patients. 

The MCCS was said to cater a maximum of a thousand patients.

/bmjo