Rama allows school heads to implement localized class suspensions

Two women brave the floods along Kaohsiung Street in Cebu City’s North Reclamation Area, which is one of the flooded areas in the city after Monday’s morning rains.

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama issued on Friday, August 19, 2022, an executive order (EO) authorizing school heads and heads of higher educational institutions to suspend classes due to typhoons, flooding, other weather disturbances, and calamities based on need–consistent with existing rules and regulations.

In his EO No. 1 series of 2022, Rama said the City government recognizes that there is a sense of urgency in the declaration of class suspensions due to typhoons, flooding, and other weather disturbances to spare the pupils, students, and government workers, and the public from danger.

The Mayor acknowledged that recently Cebu City has been experiencing heavy rains and serious flooding that affect the daily lives of Cebu City residents.

Limited face-to-face classes at all levels in Cebu will resume this Monday, August 22, 2022.

To support his EO, Rama cited various existing policies, such as the Section 2 of the EO no. 66 series of 2012; Department of Education (DepEd) Order no. 014-21; DepEd Order no. 043-12, and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Memorandum Order no. 015-12.

The Section 2 of the EO no. 66 series of 2012 states that in the “absence of typhoon signal warnings from PAGASA, localized cancellation or suspension of classes and work in government offices may be implemented by local chief executives as chairmen of the Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council concerned, in coordination with PAGASA and the NDRRMC, specifically in flood-prone areas.”

NDRRMC stands for National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.