EDUCATION Secretary Sonny Angara has called on Malacañang to expand emergency labor support to accelerate cleanup operations across public schools severely affected by the enhanced southwest monsoon (habagat) and Tropical Storm Maymay.
The proposal centers on leveraging the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged Workers (TUPAD) program while establishing “Brigada Eskwela 2.0″—a framework designed to maintain year-round disaster response and recovery for educational institutions.
“Brigada Eskwela should not end when classes begin, because calamities can strike at any time,” Angara stated, emphasizing that the mechanism will help schools clean up and reopen safely immediately following natural disasters.
Recent severe weather has disrupted education on a massive scale.
As of August 11, in-person classes were suspended in 9,096 public schools across eight regions, affecting over 6.9 million learners and nearly 294,000 personnel. Initial reports reveal that 3,348 classrooms suffered minor damage, requiring an estimated ₱27 million for immediate cleanup and clearing, plus ₱161.6 million for repairs.
To address the destruction, Angara proposed deploying TUPAD workers for debris clearing and extending assistance to 171 public schools currently operating as evacuation centers to handle sanitation and upkeep.
DepEd noted that the effort can draw from the remaining balance of the existing ₱2 billion TUPAD allocation for Brigada Eskwela, of which roughly ₱1.09 billion has already been utilized or earmarked.
DOLE Secretary Francis N. Tolentino expressed full support for the joint effort, noting that TUPAD provides temporary employment to displaced workers while restoring functional learning environments for children.
The inter-agency collaboration has already expanded its reach from an initial target of 5,000 schools to over 9,300 institutions nationwide, benefiting around 171,000 workers.
Furthermore, Angara recommended aligning recovery efforts with the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Cash-for-Work program to prioritize parents of affected students.
DepEd is also coordinating with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to deploy heavy equipment for large-scale debris removal in hard-hit communities.
