ILOILO City – Nearly 2,500 public schools in Western Visayas suspended in-person classes on Friday, September 13, as heavy rains driven by the southwest monsoon battered the region.
Although some only suspended classes from pre-school to senior high school, the Department of Education (DepEd) Region 6 reported that a total of 2,497 schools across various provinces implemented class suspensions at all levels.
The breakdown of the schools that declared suspensions, according to various Schools Division Offices (SDO), is as follows: Sipalay City (47), Antique (537), La Carlota City (30), Negros Occidental (518), Himamaylan City (64), Iloilo Province (207), Capiz (157), Bago City (58), Cadiz City (81), Silay City (39), Bacolod City (70), San Carlos City (7), Victorias City (27), Passi City (45), Kabankalan City (93), Aklan (471), and Iloilo City (66).
Hernani Escullar Jr., the information officer for DepEd-6, assured that learning would not be compromised despite the suspensions.
He cited alternative teaching delivery methods such as modular learning to help students catch up.
Affected schools have been advised to coordinate with their respective SDOs to determine the best course of action for continuing education at home, ensuring that students’ learning progresses despite the absence of in-person classes.
Local government units (LGUs) have been tasked with making the final call on class suspensions, as they are more familiar with the local weather conditions.
As of 12:41 p.m. on Friday, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) issued an orange warning level for heavy rainfall in the province of Antique and various areas in Iloilo (San Joaquin, Miag-ao) and Negros Occidental (Hinoba-An, Sipalay City, Cauayan, Candoni, and Ilog), indicating a threat of floods and landslides, particularly in low-lying and mountainous regions.
A yellow warning has also been issued for other parts of Iloilo (Guimbal, Igbaras, Tigbauan, Tubungan, and Leon), Guimaras (Nueva Valencia), Aklan (Malay, Buruanga, Nabas, Ibajay, Tangalan, Makato, Malinao, Libacao, and Madalag), and Negros Occidental (Kabankalan City, Binalbagan, Himamaylan City, Moises Padilla, Isabela, Hinigaran, Pontevedra, La Castellana, La Carlota City, San Enrique, Valladolid, Bago City, and Pulupandan), where there is a potential for flooding and landslides.
With the monsoon expected to continue affecting the region, communities are urged to stay alert and follow updates from local authorities and weather advisories./PN
