MANILA, (PNA) — With fighting between the military and surviving Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) fighters now on its 17th day, classes in 149 schools in Zamboanga City finally resumed on Wednesday morning.
The Department of Education (DepEd) announced that these schools are in areas not affected by the crisis.
“Good news, Pilipinas: 149 schools in ‘non-affected areas’ in Zamboanga open classes today,” the DepEd said on its Twitter account.
It also posted a photo of schoolchildren of Sta. Maria Central School preparing for the “ceremonial opening” of schools.
On Tuesday evening, the city government said classes in schools outside the 7-kilometer radius from the conflict zone will resume Wednesday.
It had expected classes to resume in 156 schools outside the areas of concern and critical area or 80 percent of total schools to resume.
But it said schools “located in the areas of concern particularly the four barangays and eight island barangays totaling 33 schools or 16 percent of the total number of schools, will be closed.”
Among the schools where classes will remain suspended Wednesday are those in Labuan, Limpapa, Ayala, Cawit, Baluno, Pasonanca, Lamisahan, Tetuan, and Zambowood.