In Canlaon City, education continues—against all odds and under the shadow of Mt. Kanlaon.
The return of students to their classrooms this week marks a hopeful but fragile milestone. After months of uncertainty, displacement, and danger, classes are finally resuming in six schools that were previously turned into evacuation centers for 2000 Internally-Displaced Persons following the Volcano’s eruption in December last year.
But let us not mistake this return as a return to normalcy. Far from it.
The volcano remains on Alert Level III—its threat is neither gone nor forgotten. The modular tents, donated by the Office of Civil Defense, may have physically relocated the evacuees away from classrooms, but they are still within the school campuses.
Learning is now happening in a place where daily life is defined by the rumble of uncertainty, and the scent of sulfur in the air.
For the students of Canlaon, education is no longer just about books and exams. It’s about resilience. It’s about waking up every morning in a disaster zone, and choosing to go to school to learn anyway. It’s about teachers showing up to guide, encourage, and protect, while managing the emotional toll of teaching in a community still healing from crisis.
The local government, school authorities, and civil defense agencies must be commended for coordinating efforts to make face-to-face classes possible once again. But this fragile setup is a temporary fix, not a long-term solution.
Canlaon’s situation reminds us of how deeply natural disasters impact not just infrastructure but the very social fabric of a community. When schools become shelters, students become refugees in their own hometowns. When families camp outside classrooms, every bell that rings is a reminder of what they’ve lost—and what they’re still trying to rebuild.
Now more than ever, Canlaon’s students need our support—not just temporary tents, but sustained investments in disaster-resilient classrooms, mental health services, school supplies, and digital alternatives for when eruptions disrupt learning again.
The youth of Canlaon are not just surviving—they are striving. They deserve a learning environment that matches their courage, and which honors their struggle.
For now, they learn in the shadow of the volcano. But with continued support, they will rise beyond it.
