Nearly 4,000 classrooms damaged due to Maymay, southwest monsoon

FLOODING. Caguisikan Elementary School in Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro, is flooded after the southwest monsoon brought heavy rain to the area on August 10, 2026. PIA Oriental Mindoro's Facebook page The Department of Education says it would need around P115 million to repair classrooms with minor damage alone MANILA, Philippines – Nearly 4,000 classrooms across the country sustained varying levels of damage following the bad weather caused by Tropical Storm Maymay (Kujira) and the southwest monsoon or habagat, the Department of Education (DepEd) reported on Monday, August 10. Based on the DepEd’s initial assessment, 2,355 classrooms were found to have minor damage and 818 had major damage, while 751 were tagged as “totally damaged.” The classrooms are located across 722 schools, many of which are in the Ilocos Region. Other regions that logged damaged schools were Central Luzon, the Cordillera Administrative Region, Eastern Visayas, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Western Visayas, Soccsksargen, and Cagayan Valley. The agency also reported the following non-infrastructure losses: 6,227 learning materials 5,368 chairs 360 information and communication technology units According to the DepEd, it would need to shell out around P115 million to repair classrooms with minor damage. Another P20 million will be allocated for cleanup and clearing operations of the affected schools. Currently, there are 52 schools used as evacuation centers, accommodating over 1,000 families in more than 230 classrooms, as the southwest monsoon continues to trigger floods and landslides in Luzon. On Monday, the schooling of around 6 million students was disrupted following the suspension of face-to-face classes. Alternative delivery modes, such as modular learning, are expected to be implemented. “The department reminded schools that learning continuity during emergencies does not mean forcing regular academic work during unsafe or highly stressful conditions. Instead, schools must calibrate learning based on actual risk, available access, and the well-being of learners and personnel,” the DepEd said, citing its new four-level framework for class suspensions. The Department of Social Welfare and Development said it has provided around P928,000 in financial aid and released over 50,000 family food packs to affected families. Nearly 5 million food packs are also prepositioned in over 1,000 warehouses across the country. – Rappler.com How does this make you feel? Loading