BACOLOD CITY – As part of the whole-of-government disaster recovery effort led by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Education Secretary Sonny Angara visited Negros Occidental recently to deliver direct assistance to schools heavily affected by Typhoon Tino.
Joining Secretary Angara were Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco, Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson, and other local officials as they visited flood-hit areas in Binalbagan, Moises Padilla, La Castellana, and the City of La Carlota, where they met with evacuees and local stakeholders.
Secretary Angara’s team inspected damaged schools and bridges and led the distribution of laptops from the ConnectED by Her Legacy Project Foundation Inc. and Starlink units from the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) at San Teodoro Elementary School and Jose Pepito Montilla Garcia National High School to restore connectivity and implement learning continuity measures.
“Our question was, what can we provide immediately?” Secretary Angara said, referring to the urgent needs raised by school principals. “That was what the schools requested. They had no internet connection, so we are providing about 30 units of IT equipment—laptops and Starlink connectivity—for immediate use by affected schools.”
Angara also spearheaded the distribution of Edukahon boxes containing food packs and learning kits as part of DepEd’s continuing assistance to affected families.
During a courtesy call and situational briefing at the Provincial Capitol in Bacolod City, Angara met with Lacson and other representatives of the local government to coordinate relief and recovery operations.
According to DepEd’s situation report, around 1,726 classrooms across the Negros Island Region were damaged by Typhoon Tino, with repair costs estimated at P954.7 million.
Over 64,000 students and 3,500 DepEd personnel were directly affected in Negros Occidental.
“We are coordinating closely with the President and national agencies to accelerate the rehabilitation of affected schools across all impacted provinces,” Angara said. “Our goal is simple: rebuild quickly, rebuild better, and rebuild safer.”
DepEd engineers in the region and divisions continue conducting structural integrity checks, while minor repairs and cleanup operations have begun in coordination with local government units, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). Angara also emphasized that the Department’s top priority is to restore safe learning environments through temporary learning spaces, modular learning programs, and emergency resource mobilization for teachers and students. (Gilbert Bayoran via tvds)