MAASIN CITY - The Schools Division Office of the Department of Education (DepEd) here has released the names of elementary teachers buried with some 200 children at Barangay Guinsaugon, Saint Bernard, Southern Leyte, during a midmorning mudslide February 17 that covered the entire village.
In a phone interview on Monday (Feb. 27), Victoria Galdo, a staff at the Provincial School’s Division Office, identified the missing educators in the line of duty as Gloria Navos, Grade I teacher; Cesaria Tiempo, Grade III; Merly Binondo, Grade IV; Lerma Dalugdugan, Grade V; Jocelyn Becong, Grade VI; Rodel Coquilla, a pre-elementary volunteer; and Narciso Tiempo, Head Teacher.
Only one teacher, Natividad Pia of Grade II, was alive since she was in Cebu when the tragedy happened, Galdo said, adding that she had personally talked with PIA.
All the public school teachers were residents of Guinsaugon village. The husband of Grade IV teacher Merly Binondo, who was a policeman, was saved. He was returning home at that time, but upon reaching the vicinity of the barangay he saw the mountain crashing down, so he ran for safety, Galdo narrated.
Galdo said the above-mentioned names were already sent to the DepEd Central Office as early as Saturday, February 18, a day after the disaster. Also on that day, DepEd Undersecretary and OIC Fe Hidalgo visited the stricken barangay and even ordered that all public elementary schools in the province suspend classes for the whole week, from February 20 to 24, obviously as a way of sharing the grief of those missing in action teachers.
Since the day the killer landslide engulfed the barangay, search and rescue efforts were focused on a spot believed to be the location of the elementary school, hoping to find even a single survivor.
On Thursday, February 23, Gov. Rosette Lerias announced in her daily press briefing that a green roof was exposed, and rescuers found spare parts of a refrigerator, a computer, and a lesson plan. But on Friday, the uncovered roof belonged to a house, not a school, it was found out.
Gov. Lerias, also on Friday, Feb. 24, called for a stop to rescue efforts and shifted the action to retrieval of dead bodies, acting on the recommendations of various experts and geologists.
With such a declaration, all the 973 missing persons are now presumed dead, including the seven school teachers in the line of duty.
Galdo said classes in elementary schools at Saint Bernard remained suspended for another week, February 27 to March 3, but in other towns of the province and the city of Maasin classes have resumed, as per instruction from USEC/OIC Hidalgo.
To offset days without classes, Galdo said the schools would hold classes on Saturdays in March, and in Saint Bernard where it was extended for another week the school days may drag for a few days in April.
Then what if the evacuees in some schools still linger after two weeks? “We shall cross the bridge when we come to it,” Galdo replied.
As to assistance extended to the victims, especially the teachers, Galdo said they are counting on the local government unit, adding that they will focus more on the rehabilitation phase of the ongoing disaster management work.
