BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – Negros Occidental governor Eugenio Jose Lacson is leaving it to the Department of Education (DepEd) and the national government’s Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) to decide if face-to-face graduation ceremonies would be allowed.
Lacson made the statement following a campaign rally earlier this week where some netizens made critical statements questioning why large crowds are allowed in election rallies while schools are not being allowed to hold face-to-face classes or graduation ceremonies.
“Amat-amat naman nga DepEd will open up more schools [for] face-to-face [classes],” Lacson said.
According to Lacson, there’s a criteria such as how many weeks did a certain area had zero cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
“As long as it falls within the criteria then yeah, okay naman siguro nga maka-hold sang face-to-face graduation,” Lacson pointed out.
Earlier this month, DepEd undersecretary Nepomuceno Malaluan said they have recommended expanded in-person classes and other school activities such as graduation ceremonies to President Rodrigo Duterte.
At least 304 public schools in areas under Alert Level 2 nationwide are ready to participate in the expansion of face-to-face classes./PN
