Barangay Sambang 1 fire victims sleep on the classroom floor but they have to prepare to move out of the Cebu City Central School tomorrow. (CDN PHOTO/ JUNJIE MENDOZA)
Pupils of Cebu City Central School, who gave up their classrooms in favor of fire victims, can return to their classrooms on Monday.
Fire evacuees will move out this weekend.
They will be allowed to rebuild their homes in sitio Kalubihan, barangay Sambag starting tomorrow, said Cebu City Hall’s Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor (DWUP).
DWUP chief Collin Rosell said they started clearing the site yesterday. Classes were held in tents in double shifts from morning until afternoon for Grades 1 and 2 to accommodate the displaced families.
READ: Fire victims displace pupils
“I’m very happy with the news. This will mean a return to regular class schedule,” City Central School principal Lyra Illaga said.
About 30 percent of the more than 2,000 square meters of area that was burned in last Monday evening’s fire is identified as public space.
Though there are claimants of the lot, Rosell said it won’t affect the return of the occupants.
READ: Midnight fire razed 62 houses in Sambag 1
Dr. Rhea Mae Angtud, Cebu City superintendent of the Department of Education (DepEd) said displaced families that will be temporarily housed in the school should take care of the facilities.
She said there is an agreement between the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to use schools as evacuation centers.
“What we would like to ask from them is to maintain the cleanliness of the school as well as its properties,” Angtud said.
She said some families use the classroom curtains as blankets.
More than 400 fire victims occupied 12 rooms of the Cebu City Central School.
Dr. Angtud said the unpredictable weather made it difficult for pupils who had to attend classes under tents.
“They have to adjust to new schedules which would affect their concentration during classes,” she said./Palompon Institute of Technology Intern Bianca I. Genosa