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IN A TENT. A teacher holds a class for Mananawin Elementary School learners in a tent in La Castellana, Negros Occidental, in February 2025.
DepEd-Mananawin Elementary School
Government plans to erect tent classrooms for students again because the public schools are still being used by evacuees
NEGROS OCCIDENTAL, Philippines – The seven-month Kanlaon Volcano crisis on Negros Island is complicating the reopening of classes, with some public schools still housing thousands of evacuees.
Classes are set to start in 11 days, but three key schools at the La Castellana town center – La Castellana Central Elementary School, Don Felix Robles Elementary School, and La Castellana National High School – remain among eight evacuation centers hosting displaced families.
Raul Fernandez, regional head of Task Force Kanlaon, told Rappler that the Regional Incident Management Team (RIMT) was searching for open areas to erect temporary tent classrooms.
“We are now readying everything to put up tent classrooms as soon as the RIMT finds suitable open areas not too far for schoolchildren,” Fernandez said.
Data from the Department of Education (DepEd) in Negros Occidental show 8,923 students are enrolled now in the three schools.
With classrooms still occupied, the local DepEd office is working on alternative solutions to ensure learning continues.
Ian Arnold Arnaez, spokesperson of DepEd-Negros Occidental, said two DepEd districts in La Castellana have prepared to roll out a learning continuity plan, developed after Kanlaon’s December 9, 2024 eruption.
The plan allows for face-to-face, online, or modular learning. Arnaez said it is not as effective as in-person classes but has proven workable and will be further adapted to the current situation.
This should not have been the case in the town. Arnaez cited laws such as the Safe Spaces Act and Ligtas Pinoy Center Act, along with joint memoranda from DepEd, the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of the Interior and Local Government, and Department of Health, limiting the use of schools as evacuation centers to only 15 days.
However, with no permanent relocation site available, these guidelines remain unenforceable in La Castellana because Kanlaon Volcano remains under Alert Level 3.
Based on a government plan, the town’s 4,300 evacuees should be relocated to the Panaad Park and Stadium in Bacolod City, or to Himamaylan and Kabankalan cities, to free up the schools.
But La Castellana Mayor Alme Rhummyla Nicor-Mangilimutan said that plan remains stalled due to a lack of funds.
La Castellana is still waiting for the second tranche of aid pledged by Malacañang. On May 1, Office of Civil Defense Administrator Ariel Nepomuceno announced President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had approved P203.88 million in assistance for Kanlaon evacuees in the Negros Island Region.
Of the total, P63 million is intended for La Castellana, P62.54 million for a “tent city” in Himamaylan, and P48.5 million for Canlaon City in Negros Oriental.
More than a month later, evacuees are still awaiting the release of the funds. Local officials said daily costs to support evacuees – including food, fuel, and emergency aid – run up to P600,000.
Fernandez said, “As far as I know, the ball is now with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM). We don’t know what other requirements the DBM may still need before releasing the funds.”
In late 2024, the national government allocated P50 million each to La Castellana and Canlaon City.
Nicor-Mangilimutan also urged the OCD and national government to help secure a permanent relocation site for 1,300 families from five villages – Biak na Bato, Masulog, Mansalanao, Sag-ang, and Cabagnaan – regardless of whether another eruption occurs.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) continues to warn of a possible major eruption. Since its first 2024 eruption, Kanlaon has remained active.
On Tuesday, June 3, Phivolcs reported a 29-minute ash emission, with plumes reaching 1,200 meters. It also recorded 38 volcanic earthquakes and one volcanic tremor. – Rappler.com
