MAY 28 (Eagle News) — Malacanang said that the Department of Education (DepEd) has plans to put up temporary learning centers for students of schools situated along the West Valley Fault.
This came about after the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) had released more detailed maps or an atlas of the areas traversed by the Valley Fault System (VFS) in the Greater Manila Area.
The VFS is an active fault system in the Greater Metro Manila Area (GMMA) with two fault traces: the 10 km long East Valley Fault in Rizal and the 100 km long West Valley Fault runs through different cities and towns of Bulacan, Rizal, Metro Manila, Cavite and Laguna. The West Valley Fault can generate a large earthquake which poses threat to people’s lives, buildings and infrastructures, and livelihood.
Presidential Deputy Spokesperson Abigail Valte said that the DepEd had already issued a directive disallowing the use of buildings that had not been cleared by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
“Education Secretary (Armin) Luistro was saying that they will not allow any student to use buildings that have not been cleared by the DPWH,” Valte said during a press briefing in Malacañang.
Valte said that once the department gets a better picture of the problem, it could either transfer the students to other schools or house them in temporary learning centers until safer structures are built.
She noted that there is enough time to build the temporary learning centers but not for the permanent structures.
“For the permanent construction, hindi sapat ang panahon because classes will open on June 1. Pero doon sa mga temporary learning centers natin, oo, may panahon pa tayo diyan dahil nag-anticipate na naman ang Department of Education para dito sa darating na pasukan,” she said.
The Department of Education has recently asked its engineers to check the structural integrity of school buildings situated along the West Valley Fault.
Philippine volcanology experts have warned that a magnitude 7.2 earthquake could occur once the fault moves.
The 100-kilometer West Valley Fault traverses 42 barangays in Marikina, Quezon City, Pasig, Makati, Taguig and Muntinlupa, as well as 30 barangays in the provinces of Bulacan, Laguna and Cavite. (with a report from PND)