Politics eyed in torching of schools

MALASIQUI-Was politics behind the burning of some six classrooms of a public school in Canan Elementary and National High School located at the boundary of barangays Canan Sur and Norte this town? Or did a  lightning hit the same place twice?

“Absolutely not!” was the retort of re-elected Mayor Alfonso Soriano as he ruled out politics behind the burning of three classrooms each in the elementary and high school, contrary to his political detractors claims.

Soriano told The PUNCH that the three-classroom building in the elementary department was burned a day after the elections at around 3 p.m. The canvassing of votes had been finished then.

There have been speculations that politics could have been behind it as the mayor’s elder brother, retired General Orlando Soriano who ran against re-elected third district Rep. Generoso Tulagan, lost there.

Tulagan said that he was the one who constructed the burnt classrooms from his Countrywide Development Fund.

“Kaambagelan met la tan (That’s foolishness),” Soriano said of his rivals' comments?

The second fire,  which brought down  the high school building, razed another three-classrooms around 4 p.m. of May 26. In sum, the two incidents resulted in 300 students  without classrooms.

Based on the findings of the investigation by the local police and the fire department, the first incident could have been due to faulty electric wiring since no  combustible material was found in the premises. The result of the investigation on the second incident is still being awaited

Last Wednesday, Soriano called school principals, officers of Parents-Teachers Community Associations, and barangay captains to a meeting and directed them to have two drums filled with water with  10 pails in each school ready at all times to meet any  emergency  while waiting for fire trucks to arrive.

He also appealed to them to avoid constructing low steel archs decorated with bougainvilleas on their school gates because these prevent the entry of fire trucks. He cited the Canan fire incident where it took firefighters 20 minutes to remove the school arch.

He also asked them to organize their respective barangay tanods  to secure  their schools during Saturdays and Sundays.

A joint resolution signed by the heads of the PTCA, barangay council and the school was submitted to the municipal council through Soriano soliciting financial and material assistance for the immediate construction of temporary classrooms. -ECV

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