CLASSES and onsite work in schools will be automatically suspended once government hazard warnings reach prescribed thresholds under an executive order that gives local governments and schools greater authority to respond to conditions on the ground.
“There is a need to rationalize and harmonize the rules governing the suspension and resumption of classes and activities, and onsite work in educational institutions and learning centers due to natural or human-induced hazards,” according to a copy of Executive Order No. 130.
The order, signed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. on Oct. 28 and published in the Official Gazette on Tuesday, establishes a three-tier system for suspending and resuming in-person classes, school activities and onsite work in public and private schools.
The measure seeks to make class suspensions more responsive to local conditions while minimizing disruptions to learning during typhoons, floods, volcanic activity and other emergencies.
Under the framework, classes and onsite work will be automatically suspended when warnings, advisories, alert levels or forecasts issued by government agencies such as the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) and the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) meet prescribed technical thresholds.
The thresholds are yet to be determined. The Department of Education (DepEd), in coordination with other agencies, has been directed to issue implementing guidelines within 30 days covering hazard levels, documentation requirements and coordination procedures.
The order also allows mayors to suspend classes in specific areas when automatic suspensions do not apply, provided decisions are based on documented risk assessments and prevailing conditions.
Suspensions may cover an entire city or municipality, selected barangays or, where practical, specific schools.
Individual schools and learning centers may also suspend classes and onsite work when there is an actual or imminent threat to the safety of students and personnel, provided no automatic or local government suspension is already in force.
Schools must document the basis for their decision and coordinate with local authorities.
The rules broaden the authority of local governments and schools under the previous system, which largely relied on nationwide weather warnings and local government announcements.
Under a 2012 executive order, automatic suspensions were tied to tropical cyclone warning signals. Signal No. 1 suspended preschool classes, Signal No. 2 covered elementary and secondary levels, while Signal No. 3 suspended classes at all levels and government work.
Palace Press Officer Clarissa A. Castro said the revised framework seeks to balance student safety and learning continuity.
“Every day missed in school represents a significant loss,” she told a news briefing in Filipino. “The objective of this new executive order is to ensure the safety of students while allowing their education to continue.”
Under the order, suspending in-person classes does not automatically halt learning.
Schools must implement alternative learning arrangements when feasible, following policies issued by DepEd, the Commission on Higher Education and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.
Classes and onsite work will automatically resume once the relevant warning or declaration is lifted, downgraded or expires, subject to safety inspections where necessary.
DepEd will lead the implementation of the order, while the Department of the Interior and Local Government will oversee compliance by local governments. PAGASA, Phivolcs and the EMB will provide technical advisories, while the Department of Public Works and Highways will assess school facilities affected by disasters. — Erika Mae P. Sinaking