“We need to relocate Lubo Elementary School, and we need funding. Isunga napan tayo DepEd Central Office nagdawat tulong...” - Tanudan Mayor Jaedicke Rhoss Dagadag

Tanudan, Kalinga – With Super Typhoon Uwan leaving Lubo Elementary School unsafe for learners, Mayor Jaedicke Rhoss Dagadag personally visited the Department of Education (DepEd) Central Office to request the urgent allocation of funding for the construction and permanent relocation of the school.

“We need to relocate Lubo Elementary School, and we need funding. Isunga napan ta DepEd Central Office nagdawat tulong,” Mayor Dagadag said in a phone interview with Guru Press Cordillera on December 15, 2025, adding that it is not wise to gamble on what may happen should another typhoon wreak havoc on the town.

“Agkuti tayo tattan… narigat nu isugal tayo ti masakbayan na dayta nga eskwelaan. We do not know what will happen next,” the mayor explained.

Lubo Elementary School, which serves as the center of primary education for the three barangays of the Lubo community—Lower, Upper, and Babbanoy—is located near the Tanudan River, making it highly prone to flooding. Due to the intensity of Super Typhoon Uwan, the school was submerged by floodwaters, which washed away some of its buildings on November 9.

To formally raise the concern with the DepEd national office, Dagadag brought Resolution No. 2025–064, sponsored by Vice Mayor Antonio Basungit Jr. and Councilor Shelton Pao-iton, which he personally submitted on December 11, 2025.

The resolution respectfully and urgently requests DepEd Secretary Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara to provide funding for the construction of a new, climate-resilient school building. It also calls for the permanent relocation of Lubo Elementary School to a safer area, with the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council recommending that the school be transferred to a stable and elevated site to ensure the long-term safety of students.

On the same day, Dagadag also submitted Resolution No. 2025–066 to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), requesting financial assistance for the immediate rehabilitation and repair of severely damaged footbridges in Tanudan.

“Inyapan tayo personally dagitoy resolutions nga inaramid iti Sangguniang Bayan tayo idiay DepEd Central Office. The main purpose ket para ti panakaitakder ken relocation iti Lubo Elementary School ta talaga nga haan nga safe en nga gamiten daytoy eskwelaan dagiti u-ubbing tayo. Ken napan tayo met lang idiay NDRRMC nga nagdawat iti suporta para iti rehabilitation dagitoy nadadael nga footbridges tayo, ta importante unay dagitoy ta isu mangi-connect kadagiti kakailyan tayo idiay highway wenno idiay talon ken gardens da. Agpasalamat tayo met lang iti DepEd and OCD for accommodating us,” Dagadag said in a statement.