5 teams to help repair schools

CEBU, Philippines - At least five teams of carpenters and City Hall personnel will strike the schools today for the Cebu City Government’s share in the annual Brigada Eskwela to prepare the schools for the opening of classes on Monday.

The city shall field at least 100 carpenters excluding the manpower that the Cebu Contractors’ Association pledged to provide in the name of corporate social responsibility.

Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama will lead the Brigada to start at 6:30 in the morning.

The city government hopes to cover all schools so they divided the people into five teams. The teams will be in the different public elementary and secondary schools in two days.

Apart from the manpower, the city will be bringing common materials for repairs like galvanized iron sheets, nails, and paint among others.

The budget for the activity will be sourced from the Special Education Fund (SEF) of the city which constitutes one percent of its real property tax collection. The city’s SEF is about P100 million.

Philip Zafra, Rama’s chief of staff, said that the schools that will need major repairs will be visited twice.

Rama said that he will instruct the teams to make sure that the canals in the schools or within the vicinity are cleaned as well as the gutters of buildings to prepare the schools in time for the onset of the rainy season.

“Limpyuhan gyud ang canal ug ang gutter aron dili mag-overflow sa skwelahan (canals and gutters should be cleaned to prevent it from overflowing),” Rama said.

Rama said that he instructed his men to be observant and not just look for minor problems but report to him all aspects of the school that need attention.

Few months ago, the mayor also said that he will form a group that will check the structural integrity of buildings especially in the mountain barangays to ensure that they are safe for use of the students in case of emergencies such as flash flood, landslide or earthquake. —(FREEMAN)