Elementary school pupils attend school accompanied by their guardians on the first day of class at Kapitbahayan Elementary School in Navotas City on July 29, 2024. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

NAVOTAS CITY – Twenty-two of the 24 public schools in Navotas City opened classes as scheduled this Monday, July 29. 

Navotas City Mayor John Rey Tiangco made the rounds in some schools early Monday morning to check on the situation.

"So far, okay naman po yung first day of classes po natin. Maayos naman po nag-ikot po tayo, pang-pitong eskwelahan po natin ito since 5:00 am," he said in an interview at Kapitbahayan Elementary School.

(So far, our first day of classes is going okay. It was orderly when we went around, this is the seventh school we visited since 5 am.)

Tiangco earlier said classes in the city can open as scheduled, despite the onslaught of the southwest monsoon and typhoon Carina.

READ: 98 pct of public schools nationwide open classes on time -- DepEd

READ: Thunderstorm greets learners on 1st day of school

Just like in other cities, several schools in Navotas were used as evacuation centers at the height of flooding last week. But Tiangco said they were able to conduct cleanup operations over the weekend, after the affected families returned home when the floods subsided.

"Nagpapasalamat po tayo siyempre sa mga tumulong. Sa mga magulang, sa mga guro po natin. Alam po natin nabawasan tayo ng araw sa Brigada Eskwela, pero ganunpaman handang handa parin ang mga schools po natin," he said.

(I would like to thank everyone who helped. To all the parents, all the teachers, we know that we lost some days for Brigada Eskwela, but we still managed to make the schools ready in time for today.)

Kapitbahayan Elementary School Principal Floritta Quijano says they were able to open classes on time since they were not severely affected by the flooding.

"Wala namang dahilan para i-cancel po natin ang pasukan sapagkat ang ating paaralan naman ay hindi gaanong binaha. Nagkaroon tayo ng mga evacuees, pero kalahating araw lang," she said.

(There's no reason to cancel the opening of classes because our school was not badly flooded. We even had evacuees, but they only stayed for half a day.)

"Sa kauna-unahang pagkakataon, ngayon lang pinasok ang covered court pero hanggang bukong-bukong lang po. Pero the moment na huminto na yung umulan, nagsubside na po yung baha.," Quijano added.

(For the first time, our covered court got flooded but it was only ankle-deep. The moment the rains stopped, the flooding subsided.)

She said the barangay helped clean the trash brought by the flooding.

Based on their initial assessment, Quijano said the first day of classes was orderly.

She said their school has about 4,580 students enrolled for this academic year. This figure includes over 200 special education students.

"Sa kasalukuyan, tayo po ay nasa 86% ng population na dumarating. So aasahan po natin dahil marami pa pong magulang na pupunta, baka maabot natin ang 100% within this week," Quijano said.

(Right now,  86% of our student population has arrived in school. Since we are expecting more parents to bring their children, we can reach 100% this week.)

The principal cited the recent storm as reasons for why some students have not yet enrolled or showed up for classes.

"Dala siguro ng nangyaring bagyo na yung iba ay ihahatid palang, baka nabasa ang kanilang uniporme. Dahil maraming nagpahatid sa amin ng balita na sila ay medyo mali-late sa pag punta ng paaralan. Natutuwa kami na ganunpaman, maganda ang turnover ng enrollment. Pati ang teachers natin 100% ang attendance," she said.

(The [other absent students] may have been affected by the flooding, will still be brought to school, their uniforms have been soaked. Many parents told us they will be late in bringing their children to school. Despite this, we are still happy with the turnover in enrollment. Even our teachers are 100% attendance.)

Amid the high number of enrollees, Quijano said they do not have a problem with materials, facilities and maintain the recommended ratio of students per class.

READ: What is the state of education in public schools?

TWO REMAINING SCHOOLS AIM TO OPEN ON JULY 31

Only two schools in Navotas were unable to begin the new academic year on time.

Tanza Elementary School and Tanza National High School deferred their school opening to August 5. However, Mayor Tiangco says it's possible these schools can begin classes on July 31, Wednesday.

"Ito po kasi yung ginamit na evacuation centers natin. Medyo halos Friday na po sila nakaalis. So hanggang ngayon naglilinis parin po ang mga kasamahan natin doon. So hopefully, by July 31 ay may pasok na po doon sa dalawang schools," he said.

Flood water entered Tanza National High School last Thursday at the peak of the high tide.

Tanza Elementary School Principal Melinda Davadilla is hopeful they can get the school ready in time for class opening. 

"Sa ngayon, busy po ang mga teachers naghahanda po, inaayos po yung mga kwarto nila para sa pagbubukas ng school sa Wednesday. Nagaantay po kami kung sino po ang willing tumulong po sa rooms para masigurado po natin na by Wednesday, handang-handa na ang Tanza Elementary School," she said.

(Our teachers are currently busy preparing, fixing their classrooms for the school opening on Wednesday. We are waiting to see who are willing to fix the rooms to ensure that Tanza Elementary School is ready by Wednesday.)

Last week, some classrooms in the school were submerged in waist-deep flood, damaging several school materials and supplies.

"Nung kataasan po ng baha at bagyo, naging underwater po yung eskwelan, buong community po actually. Sabi po sa akin umabot po hanggang bewang po yung tubig. So may mga kwarto po kami, mga gamit pong nasira, nalubog, nabuwal ng baha," she explained.

(During the height of the flood and storm, our school was underwater, the whole community actually. I was told the water reached waist level. We have rooms, items that got destroyed, submerged by the flood.)

A mountain of drenched, damaged school supplies and learning materials remained in front of the school. The principal said most of these are unusable, but they are still checking which can be salvaged.

"Kailangan po ng manpower kasi mabibigat po yung mga armchair at yung mga desk na nabasa. So medyo hirap po yung teachers magbuhat ng mga gamit. Kailangan pong siguraduhin tuyo yung mga gamit nila," she said.

(We need manpower because the armchairs and desks that were soaked are heavy. So our teachers are having difficulty in carrying these items. We also need help in drying the the school supplies that were drenched by the rains and flood.)

When asked if they can meet the July 31 target for school opening, Davadilla remained optimistic.

"Kaya naman po. Sumagot naman po yung mga teachers sa meeting kanina na kaya. Kung medyo may challenges, tulong-tulong nalang po. Onti nalang po, kakayanin po yan sana by Wednesday, ready kami," she said.

(It can be done. My teachers said it's possible in our meeting earlier. If there are challenges, we will just help each other. Just a little bit more, we can open and hopefully be ready by Wednesday.)

Tanza Elementary School expects over 3,000 students to enroll for this year.

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