MANILA, Philippines - Classes in all levels in Metro Manila and Rizal, both public and private, are suspended today and tomorrow to hasten the rescue and relief operations for victims of typhoon “Ondoy,” National Disaster Coordinating Council chair and Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro announced yesterday morning.
In a briefing at the NDCC headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Teodoro said that in suspending classes, classrooms can be used for evacuation.
“We are also doing this to prevent heavy traffic while we are doing relief operations,” he said.
The Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education approved the suspension.
For areas not covered by the suspension of classes, local government executives in areas placed under a state of national calamity can decide to suspend classes based on the weather and flood situation in their areas.
Aside from Metro Manila, the provinces of Mountain Province, Ifugao, Benguet, Pangasinan, La Union, Ilocos Sur, Isabela, Quirino, Nueva Viscaya, Aurora, Nueva Ecija, Zambales, Pampanga, Bulacan, Tarlac, Bataan, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon, Mindoro Oriental and Occidental, Marinduque, Catanduanes, Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur are under a state of calamity.
Work in government offices, however, is not suspended.
“If our government employees, could do their best to go to work, if they are not that affected, then we would like to encourage them to work because the public needs us more now,” he said.
On the other hand, the decision to suspend work in private companies is left to management.
The Department of Education Region IV-A Office, which covers the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon said elementary and high school classes in public and private schools in Cavite City in Cavite, and Santa Rosa City in Laguna are suspended today.
Bulacan Gov. Joselito Mendoza has also suspended classes in all levels today.
Provincial administrator Perlita Mendoza said the governor suspended classes after assessing the damages brought by Ondoy in The province.
“Some schools need to be repaired before students can come back to school,” she told the STAR in a phone interview.
Reports from the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) said that least 2,000 families were displaced by the storm. Most of the public elementary schools in the province were used as evacuation centers.
As of yesterday morning, more than half of the families have returned to their homes.
However, coastal towns in the province are expected be submerged until Wednesday.
Laguna Gov. Teresita Larazo announced that classes in all levels in the province are suspended today because the towns of Mabitac, Sinilion, Sta. Maria, Sta. Cruz, Paete, and Calamba are still underwater.
Provincial director Senior Superintendent Manolito Labrador said around 250 families were evacuated from their homes on the banks of the Marikina River to a temporary shelter in Barangay Palingon. An unidentified man also drowned in Paete.
NDCC officials in the nearby province of Rizal confirmed at least 40 deaths in the province most of them from the towns of Tanay, Rodriguez (formerly Montalban), and Angono. Many are still missing.
Batangas Gov. Vilma Santos-Recto, who is in Los Angeles, California, also suspended classes in all levels in the province today. – With Paolo Romero, Ed Amoroso, and Dino Balabo