DILG or LGUs: Which one should suspend classes?

MANILA, Philippines — The authority to suspend classes should remain with local government executives, Education Secretary Sonny Angara said yesterday.

It was Angara’s reaction to the proposal of Departmnent of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jonvic Remulla to be the authorized official to declare the cancellation of classes.

President Marcos has not yet decided on Remulla’s proposal. Yesterday, it was Malacañang that announced the suspension of classes due to massive flooding. But for class suspensions today, the DILG made the announcement.

“Actually, the local government units (LGUs) are still the primary government units” that have the authority to cancel classes, Angara said.

He explained that Remulla is based in Manila, and might take a longer period of time to gain information on the situation in other parts of the country, thus would take a longer time to decide if classes in a particular locality should be canceled.

“The (Secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government) is in Manila. He does not know what is happening in Mindanao. Let us leave it to the localities because they are the ones who know what is happening in their locality,” the Department of Education chief added.

Angara said – while there might be reason to suspend classes in some parts of the country yesterday because of the strong rains – during times when there is only a small amount of rain, parents should not pressure their local government officials to cancel classes because it would affect the children’s learning.

“I am asking the LGUs, the public, parents, not to pressure their local chief executives that even if there is only minimal volume of rain there would be a suspension of classes, because if we would total the school days that are lost, it has a big impact on our students, called learning loss,” he said.

Rizal Gov. Rebecca Ynares said if classes are canceled, this would be replaced by make-up classes during Saturdays or during school vacations, shortening the Christmas breaks.

She explained that LGUs have no control over the rain and time when there would be a heavy rainfall, and they should not be blamed when local officials would only make announcements of class cancelation after the students have already gone to their school.

Ynares issued the statement amid netizens’ criticisms of the “buzzer beater” or last-minute annouuncements of class suspensions. — Mark Ernest Villeza, Rainier Allan Ronda, Ghio Ong, Helen Flores