Marikina suspends classes for 1 month

Marikina City local government suspended classes in public and private schools in the city due to the damage caused by Typhoon Ulysses, Mayor Marcelino Teodoro said Monday.

“How can students attend classes even if they have learning modules and gadgets, but their houses are submerged in mud?” he said. “One-month suspension from this week, starting today (Nov. 16) and for the next four weeks.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Teodoro said he was open to extending the suspension “if necessary.”

The class suspension would give school officials enough time to reproduce and redistribute learning modules for their students.

“We need to establish a proper environment. That’s something that we really need to do now,” he added.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Department of Education (DepEd) said that it would support the decision of local government units (LGUs) in enforcing lengthy class suspensions in their jurisdictions due to severe floods brought by Typhoons Ulysses and Rolly.

According to Malcom Garma, DepEd National Capital Region (DepEd-NCR) regional director, they were already coordinating with the Marikina City schools division office (SDO) to create a catch-up plan students in schools in the city.

 Mayor Marcy Teodoro, on Friday, declared a  over the city due to the flooding and damages brought by Typhoon .

ADVERTISEMENT

Marikina suspends classes for 1 month

Teodoro added that many Marikina residents were affected not only by typhoon Ulysses but also by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The declaration of a state of calamity will allow the Marikina local government to tap into its calamity funds to help the affected residents.

The Marikina River overflowed due to Ulysses’ heavy overnight rains and flooded a large part of the city.

Teodoro said around 15,000 individuals remain in evacuation centers and still can’t return to their homes. Many areas in Marikina still have no power and water supply.

The typhoon Ulysses brought back fears and painful memories of Ondoy, which heavily damaged the city in 2009.

Typhoon Ketsana, known in the Philippines as Tropical Storm Ondoy, was the second-most devastating tropical cyclone of the 2009 Pacific typhoon season, causing $1.09 billion in damages and 747 fatalities, only behind Morakot earlier in the season, which caused 789 deaths and damages worth $6.2 billion.