ILOILO City – A total of 999 schools in Western Visayas have suspended in-person classes on Monday, September 2, due to the southwest monsoon enhanced by Tropical Storm “Enteng” (international name: “Yagi”).
A list provided by the Department of Education (DepEd) Regional Office 6 showed the Schools Division Office (SDO) of Antique recording the highest number of suspensions, with 504 schools temporarily halting classes.
Data from the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) – Antique revealed that 16 municipalities declared class suspensions, including Hamtic, San Jose de Buenavista, Sebaste, Libertad, Pandan, Culasi, Caluya, Tobias Fornier, Anini-y, Barbaza, Sibalom, Belison, Tibiao, Laua-an, San Remigio, and Valderrama.
The towns of Patnongon and Bugasong were the only areas in Antique that did not suspend classes.
Other schools divisions with significant numbers of class suspensions include Negros Occidental with 189 schools, Iloilo Province with 91 schools, Bacolod City with 70 schools, San Carlos City with 65 schools, Silay City with 39 schools, Victorias City with 27 schools, and Bago City with 14 schools.
In Iloilo City, Mayor Jerry Treñas also ordered the suspension of classes across all levels, both in public and private schools, due to the persistent heavy rains.
DepEd-6 spokesperson Hernani Escullar Jr. assured that students affected by the class suspensions will be able to catch up with their lessons through alternative delivery methods.
Schools are encouraged to implement these alternative methods to ensure that learners do not fall behind despite the suspension of in-person classes, he emphasized.
The DepEd has delegated the authority to local government units (LGUs) to make decisions regarding class suspensions, as they are more familiar with the specific weather conditions in their respective areas.
Affected schools are expected to coordinate with their respective SDOs to receive guidance on implementing learning continuity plans, ensuring that education continues even in the absence of in-person classes./PN
