Normalization of School Activities in Calamity Affected Areas

September 6, 1984 LETTER OF INSTRUCTIONS NO. 1422 DIRECTING ACTION TO NORMALIZE SCHOOL ACTIVITIES IN CALAMITY AFFECTED AREAS TO : The Minister of Education, Culture and Sports The Minister of Public Works and Highways The Minister of Local Government The Minister of the Budget The President, Government Service Insurance System WHEREAS, the recent typhoons "Maring" and "Nitang" seriously affected schools in various provinces and cities of the country, from Northern Luzon to Mindanao; WHEREAS, it is necessary to take all possible measures to restore normalcy in the schools system; NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by Law, do hereby Order and Instruct; 1. The Minister of Education, Culture and Sports and the Minister of Public Works and Highways shall immediately assess the damage to school-buildings and other facilities shall estimate the minimum requirements for replacement or repair. These estimates shall be submitted to the President as soon as completed, as basis for further action; acd 2. The Minister of the Budget shall release the sum of three million pesos (P3,000,000) to cover the most urgent repair needs as determined jointly by the Ministers of Education, Culture and Sports and of Public Works and Highways, pending the completion of the assessment under No. 1 above; 3. The Minister of Education, Culture and Sports shall assess the damage to school equipment (particularly desks, tables, blackboards, and other classroom equipment) and to textbooks, workbooks and other basic teaching material and shall submit these to the President, as basis for further action; 4. The Minister of the Budget shall release the sum of two million pesos (P2,000,000) to cover the most urgent needs for school equipment, books and other teaching material; 5. The acquisition of school equipment shall be limited to those that can be supplied by vocational/technical schools without sub-contracting. The acquisition of textbooks and workbooks shall be limited to the printing and distribution of books written under the Textbook Production Project. The replacement of other teaching material shall be limited to the distribution of a cash payment to affected teachers in order to allow them to purchase chalk, erasers, crayons and pentel pens, cartolina, thumb tacks and other similarly basic classroom essentials; 6. The Minister of Local Government and the Minister of Education, Culture and Sports shall instruct Local School Boards to reprogram their respective budgets so as to eliminate all postponable items in favor of repair and rehabilitation related purposes, with particular emphasis to the repair of buildings, school desks and other classroom equipment. Expenses otherwise earmarked for the purchase of posters, supplementary readers, reference works, and other teaching material purchased commercially from sources other than the Textbook Production Project shall be suspended indefinitely. Any exceptions earlier approved by the President for the purchase of such material are hereby revoked; 7. The President of the Government Service Insurance System shall initiate an emergency salary loan program for teachers and education support personnel who need such funds for the purpose of rehabilitating their damaged home. DONE in the City of Manila, this sixth day of September, Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Four.