Typhoon Ompong causes over P400M in damage to universities

Sofia Tomacruz

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Typhoon Ompong causes over P400M in damage to universities
Commission on Higher Education Officer-in-Charge Prospero de Vera III says affected state universities are in the Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, and Cordillera Administrative Region

MANILA, Philippines – Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Officer-in-Charge Prospero de Vera III said the initial cost of damage to state universities and colleges (SUCs) after the onslaught of Typhoon Ompong (Mangkhut) is about P428.87 million.

In a press briefing on Tuesday, September 18, De Vera said mostly structural damage was seen in universities in the Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, and Cordillera Administrative Region. These include broken windows, collapsed roofs, and fallen walls, among others.

Below is the breakdown of the cost of damage so far in affected schools per region.

Ilocos Region
Total: P193,482,800

  • Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University – P42 million
  • North Luzon Philippines State College – P702,800
  • University of Northern Philippines – P9.93 million
  • Pangasinan State University – P850,000
  • Mariano Marcos State University – P86 million 
  • Ilocos Sur Polytechnic State College – P54 million

Cagayan Valley
Total: P215,340,000 

Cagayan State University campuses:

  • Lal-lo campus – P45.6 million 
  • Gonzaga campus – P36 million 
  • Lasam campus – P35 million
  • Piat campus – P61.99 million 
  • Andrews campus – P2 million 
  • Carig campus – P4.6 million 
  • Aparri campus – P19.65 million

Cordillera Administrative Region
Total: P20,048,799

  • Abra State Institute of Science and Technology – P5.09 million
  • Kalinga State University – P5 million 
  • Apayao State College – P2.5 million 
  • Mt Province State Polytechnic College – P6.02 million 
  • Ifugao State University – P1.43 million 
  • Benguet State University – to be determined

De Vera said the cost of damage to schools is likely to increase as the figures are just a partial assessment of damage to structures. The cost of broken equipment, among others, has not yet been accounted for.

Will students be able to go back to school? According to De Vera, school administrators will decide whether or not there is a need to suspend classes further.

“We are in constant touch with them (school officials) and so far they have not reported any intention of not resuming classes so those decisions are made by individual universities,” he said.

De Vera added that CHED would only come in if a school sustained extensive damage and students would need to study elsewhere, similar to what happened in the aftermath of Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan).

“I don’t think we are in that situation. The intervention of the commission will come in only if the operations of the school are so affected that they (students) will have to go to other universities,” he said.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said over 800,000 people have been affected by Ompong. The death toll stood at 74 as of Tuesday. – Rappler.com

More on Typhoon Ompong (Mangkhut): 

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Sofia Tomacruz

Sofia Tomacruz covers defense and foreign affairs. Follow her on Twitter via @sofiatomacruz.