By Merlina Hernando-Malipot Over a hundred schools and more than a thousand classrooms are currently being used as evacuation centers amid the continued unrest of Taal volcano, the Department of Education (DepEd) said. (MANILA BULLETIN) In an Education Cluster Report as of Jan. 16, DepEd said 7, 094, 165 learners in 7, 542 schools are affected by Taal’s volcanic eruption in 58 divisions under the National Capital Region (NCR), Region III, Region IV-A, and Region IV-B. Due to the Taal volcanic eruption over the weekend, classes remain suspended in 16 divisions under Region IV-A, affecting 1, 829, 249 learners in 2, 113 schools. According to DepEd data, 167 schools in three divisions under Region IV-A are being used as evacuation centers, with 1, 083 classrooms in these schools housing 7,667 families or 36, 299 individuals, 9, 995 of whom are learners. Schools in Region IV-A being used as evacuation centers are in Batangas, Batangas City, Cavite, General Trias, Laguna, Lipa City, San Pablo City, Santa Rosa City, and Tanauan City. Meanwhile, DepEd attended the response cluster meeting on the creation of contingency plan for Worst Case Scenario; facilitated a call for donations (in-kind and financial assistance); deployed local DepEd disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) coordinators for validation in low-impact areas; while DepEd Region IV-A provided face masks, water, biscuits, toiletries, and medical assistance to affected areas. DepEd also continues to disseminate preparedness measures to affected regions and divisions, as well as monitor updates from Department of Science and Technology –Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (DOST-Phivolcs); coordinate with affected regions and divisions on class suspensions, schools used as evacuation centers, and other effects of the eruption; and mobilize unaffected DepEd field offices and the private sector to provide assistance to Region IV-A. DepEd will also begin immediate deployment of response interventions (hygiene kits, learners’ kits, teachers’ kits, cleaning kits, clean-up funds, provision of psychological first aid and Alternative Delivery Modes) to affected areas; and ensure that all displaced learners who are near unaffected schools are “accepted even without credentials to ensure learning continuity.”