By John Venson Nisnisan
The ground rumbled… children screamed… the earth growled… debris fell… and then another… then, when the suffocating deathly dust-filled atmosphere settled – lives were lost. Infrastructure worth millions – damaged. Thousands of houses wherein Filipinos would call their home, their refuge, their solace were now devastated by the 6.9 magnitude earthquake that hit Northern Cebu – specifically Bogo City being the epicenter of this tragedy.
However, due to the sheer immense power, this earthquake unleashed into the heart of the Philippines, the echoing roar it brought upon the “Queen City of the South” was also heard and felt throughout the Visayas region. One instance is Bohol also known for its majestic Chocolate Hills and pearly white ethereal beaches was affected by the ripples of its waves. To be specific, a school in the municipality of Dauis made preemptive measures just to ensure the precious safety of their dear beloved students.
After the September 30 earthquake, municipal engineers, together with District Supervisor Dr. Carlito A. Fuentes Jr., inspected the building and discovered structural cracks. Engineers from the Division Office subsequently recommended that the building be demolished. The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) also conducted a follow-up inspection for further assessment.
With all the necessary precautions in place, Biking Technical Vocational High School implemented a shifting schedule on October 20, 2025, with Junior High School classes held from 6:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and Senior High School classes from 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. This arrangement was made after the SEDP Building was declared “NOT SAFE” for student and teacher occupancy. Meanwhile, the building has withstood harsh storms and even endured the 7.2-magnitude earthquake in October 2013.
The new schedule brought upon the series of earthquake-related tragedies that surrounded the island that the school sat upon was barely manageable to some students especially to the Junior High. The learners would wake up even before the crack of dawn just to get to school with their schedules starting as freezingly early as 6:00 in the morning and 5:45 AM on Mondays, and their shifts ending while the sun smiled warmly by 12:00 noon. Senior High students on the other hand had their start by the peak of daytime at 12:00 noon and ending by the Ber-months cold-filled evenings of 6:00PM.
Constructing makeshift classrooms to address the shortage was the school’s only option to return to its regular whole-day schedule. This serves as a temporary solution while waiting for the construction of additional classrooms to be provided by the Department of Education.
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