The unpredictable climate in the classroom suspension rules

WHILE attending a sports club event, and in a brief discussion with some heads of participating educational institutions, the topic quickly shifted from sports to the suspension of classes in schools due to recent typhoons. The general sentiment on the table was that there is a complete lack of clear guidelines on which government agency should make the announcement of suspension of classes and, more importantly, the extent of such authority to suspend classes.

EO 66 series from 2012

When it comes to automatic suspension of classes, Executive Order 66 series of 2012 provided the rules. To be clear, these rules apply automatically without the need for an announcement from the local chief executives, the Department of Education (DepEd), or the Office of the President. It is the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) that is the authority (and the hope of students) on class suspensions. EO 66 stipulates that for Storm Signal No. 1, classes in kindergarten are automatically suspended; for Signal No. 2, automatic class suspensions include elementary and middle school; and for Signal No. 3 and above, automatic class suspensions include high school and high school. In this case, all announcements from the local government, DepEd, and the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) are for informational purposes only. However, in the absence of a storm signal from the Pagasa Weather Bureau, but there is flooding or heavy rain, the cancellation of classes is localized to the cities or municipalities. This means that the suspension is not automatic but is at the discretion of the local chief executives who may or may not implement the suspension or cancellation of classes in their respective jurisdictions. It also provides that in calamities other than typhoons, local chief executives may also suspend classes and work based on the declaration of a state of calamity by the President based on the recommendation of the NDRRMC. Before the issuance of EO 66, class suspensions were to be announced by DepEd for public schools, and private schools could choose to follow suit. This authority was transferred to local chief executives under EO 66. Thus, it appears that the local government’s authority to suspend classes, derived from the earlier authority of DepEd, only applies to public schools. But as has been the case in recent years, cities and towns have announced class suspensions at all levels, for both public and private schools. Worse, the announcements of class suspensions are often accompanied by suspensions of online classes at private schools.

DO 37, series of 2022

The most recent issuance on class suspensions is Department Order 37, Series of 2022, which provides that in-person, online classes and work from Kindergarten to Grade 12 shall be automatically suspended in schools in local government units that have been issued with Tropical Cyclone Wind Signals 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 by the Pagasa. The department order provides that its scope covers all schools under the DepEd, including their students and school personnel, and is only optional for private schools. Despite this, many private schools in different regions complain that local government units often issue orders suspending classes, both in-person and online, for all levels in both public and private schools. Shouldn’t online classes prevent disruption when in-person classes are not possible, such as in the case of typhoons? LGUs automatically suspending both in-person and online classes in private schools may not always be reasonable. At the very least, the school board of a private school should be given the authority to make a decision on suspending online classes as this has academic implications, particularly on the school calendar and therefore on the learning performance of students.

General well-being

Certainly, local governments are only concerned with the safety of students within their territorial jurisdiction, consistent with their duty to promote the general welfare of their residents. The Local Government Code provides that every local government unit may exercise powers necessary to promote the general welfare of its constituents, and in case of doubt, such powers are liberally construed in favor of the local government unit. However, it must be noted that the local government unit acts as an agent or instrumentality of the state in delivering basic government services to the people. It is, like the national government, bound by the fundamental state policy on education enshrined in our Constitution. Education of students is certainly imbued with the public interest, and ensuring continuity of delivery within reasonable means such as online platforms does not offend the promotion of the general welfare. In the larger scheme of things, the governance of education, both national and local, must follow the constitutional mandates of reasonable supervision and regulation of all schools and the guarantee of academic freedom to all institutions of higher learning. In this sense, local governments must rely on the expertise of educational agencies such as DepEd, CHEd and Tesda, which are legally obligated to uphold these principles.

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