Marcos urged to declare 'academic ease' in areas under state of calamity

A youth organization over the weekend urged President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to declare an "academic ease" in all areas under a state of calamity due to Severe Tropical Storm "Kristine."

In a statement, SAVE Phils pointed out that an "academic ease" will lighten the academic load of students as well as push back all deadlines and scheduled exams by not burdening teachers, parents, and students as they recover from the record-breaking rainfall brought by the typhoon.

"We cannot expect students to continue attending classes and perform well as long as roads remain unpassable and the distressed with no water supply, power outages, and no internet access," the group said.

The Department of Education reported on Sunday that the typhoon caused significant damage to schools nationwide, amounting to P3.3 billion.

According to its initial assessment, over 38,000 schools were affected by the typhoon and of the total, 2,700 classrooms were completely destroyed, while 1,361 suffered partial damage.

Additionally, 861 schools experienced secondary hazards like flooding and landslides.

According to the latest data from the National Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), 158 cities and municipalities nationwide are currently under a state of calamity.

These include the entire provinces of Bicol and Calabarzon.

The typhoon has killed 116 persons, left 109 missing, and affected over 6.7 million individuals and displaced nearly one million.

The estimated cost of damage to agriculture was pegged at P2.5 billion.

As of Monday, 28 October, there are still 31 percent of road sections not passable to all types of vehicles.