Public school sits on fault line

The magnitude 7.2 quake that hit Bohol on Oct. 15 frightened officials of a Makati City public school, which stands a few meters from the West Marikina Valley Fault.

“It gave me jitters and I prayed that it won’t happen to us,” said Teresita Arriola, principal of Pembo Elementary School.

The one-hectare Pembo Elementary School, the second biggest school in the city with close to 6,000 students, is one of the two public schools located in a danger zone, according to Makati’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan.

It is nine meters from the fault line, while Tibago High School in Barangay East Rembo is 25 meters away.

The West Marikina Valley Fault, which according to geologists is ripe for movement, cuts through four barangays in Makati—Rizal, East Rembo, Comembo and Pembo.

Merlina Panganiban, head of the Urban Development Department of Makati, said the city government would remove both private and public structures that stand on the fault and turn the easement into an open space.

The Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board model zoning ordinance requires that no structures be erected within the 10-meter easement along the fault zone.

Panganiban said, however, the city government would still determine whether Pembo Elementary School and Tibago High School were within the easement zone.

“We would still want to make sure about the fault movement by digging and hiring private experts,” she said. Niña P. Calleja