City schools ready for resumption of classes

A bucket of soapy water was this man needed to clean up an armchair at the Tejero Elementary school. (CDN PHOTO/ LITO TECSON)

Instead of a stethoscope, Cebu City Veterinarian Dr. Pilar Romero was armed with a broom and a trash bag yesterday.

Cebu City Hall’s 5,000 employees were yesterday tasked to clean the 137 schools and gyms that were used as evacuation centers a few days before the arrival of typhoon Ruby last week.

“With the help of other employees as well as some of the teachers of CTU, we were able to finish all the cleaning in less than two hours,” Romero said.

About 391 families in the coastal barangays of Tinago, San Roque and Tejero stayed in the Cebu Technological University (CTU).

Last Sunday afternoon, Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama said families in evacuation sites should be returned to their homes.

The cleanup began after yesterday’s flag-raising ceremony.

In CTU, almost a hundred personnel from the Department of Veterinary Medicine and Fisheries (DVMF) and Abattoir Operations Division (AOD) were assigned to clean the school. They were assisted by teachers from the school.

“The school administration was very happy with us since we really thought of making sure that the school is clean after we leave,” Romero said.

Zero damage

Dr. Segundino Cuadra, CTU campus director said they will still be helping the city in the future.

But he requested that the city government should give more time for them to prepare before the evacuees start going to the school.

In Mandaue City, Disaster Risk Reduction Officer Felix Suico said there were no casualties and zero damage to infrastructure in the city’s 27 barangays when typhoon Ruby passed through the country last week.

“Our efforts and preparations produced good results. Mandaue City wasn’t affected by the typhoon,” Suico said.  He said they only had to deal with fallen trees and some brownouts last Saturday and Sunday.

“Last Sunday Mayor Cortes gave the ‘go signal to the evacuees that they can go home except those from barangay Looc (who live under the Mandaue-Mactan bridge),” Suico said in Cebuano. Mandaue City housed 26,899 persons in evacuation centers with Mandaue City Central School having the highest number of evacuees at 4,781.  Mandaue City Hall employees helped clean some private schools used as evacuation centers yesterday morning.

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