MANILA, Philippines — Ten students across four schools in Occidental Mindoro collapsed on Wednesday due to heat amid frequent power outages affecting the town of San Jose since March 2023 to April 18, 2023.
The warmer temperatures brought about by the dry season and brownouts in the area “caused problems with the health of students from different schools,” MDRRM officer Gil Gendrano said in Filipino.
“All the residents in the municipality are gravely affected by the extremely warm weather that coincides with long hours of brownout. In a single day, we experience longer hours of brownout than hours with electricity,” Gendrano added.
According to the MDRRMO, the students are now in safe condition.
In the same Facebook page lamented, “Lubhang apektado na ang lahat ng mamamayan sa lalawigan sa sobrang init ng panahon na sinabayan pa ng matagal na brownout. Sa loob ng isang araw, mas matagal ang brownout kaysa may kuryente. Lugmok na ang mga negosyante, kaawa-awa na ang kalagayan ng mga bata, mga Senior Citizens lalo na ang mga maysakit, hindi na produktibo ang mga manggagawa sa kanilang mga tungkulin.
Patuloy ang panawagan ng mga mamamayan ng Occidental Mindoro na matapos na ang dinaranas na kalbaryo. Sa lalong madaling panahon ay magkaroon ng maaayos na suplay ng kuryente. Umaasa ang taumbayan na mabigyang pansin ng National Agencies lalo na ni Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. ang sitwasyon dito sa lalawigan.”
A poll by the Alliance of Concerned Teachers in March showed that most or 67% of the 7,800 teachers surveyed said they experienced “intolerable heat” inside their classrooms at the start of the dry season, resulting in students’ difficulty paying attention to lessons and increased absences.
The Department of Education previously said that it is studying the possibility of returning to the old academic calendar that will allow students to take their vacations during the summer months of April and May.
