Cockfighting arena becomes classroom after elementary school shut due to natural disaster damage

An elementary school in the town of Mulanay, Quezon has found an unlikely venue to hold their classes after its old campus was condemned by authorities due to safety concerns: a cockfighting arena.

In a video posted by the town’s mayor, Aristotle Aguirre, on his Facebook page, he explained that San Isidro Elementary School had been ravaged by typhoons, landslides, and earthquakes, with cracks in the classroom walls and their ceilings broken down. The local government declared the school property closed in 2020.

With in-person classes resuming this year and no school building to use, the decision was made to move classes to a cockfighting arena that had been sitting idle for years since it was ordered closed due to legal disputes.

San Isidro Elementary has 252 students. The arena is currently serving as the temporary school venue for students from Grades 1 to 6, except Grade 3, whose classes are being held at the nearby village hall.

Students have assigned areas around the circular arena while the central cockpit now serves as office space with workstations for the teachers.

Meanwhile, the entrance was turned into a triage area where teachers and pupils pass through a thermal scanner before entering the arena. An isolation area has been set up on-site for individuals who show symptoms.

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