P-Noy sets new rules for suspension of classes

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino issued yesterday new guidelines to all concerned government units to deal with the suspension of classes and work in both public and private establishments during calamities.

Aquino issued Executive Order 66 that streamlines and simplifies procedures for the cancellation or suspension of classes in public and private schools and work in government offices due to calamities to avoid unnecessary loss of lives.

“This is an assertion of the state’s declared policy to institutionalize measures that will ensure that the general public, including students and state workers, will be safe from needless hazards and that their lives and limbs will be safeguarded,” said Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr.

Aquino had expanded the existing protocol on the cancellation or suspension of classes and work due to typhoons and it would now include flooding, calamities and other weather disturbances in order to avoid tragedies like the devastating floods brought by tropical storm “Sendong” in Mindanao and the Visayas last December.

EO 66 has set the following guidelines on the cancellation or suspension of classes in public and private schools and work in government:

Signal No. 1 – Classes at the pre-school level in the affected area shall be automatically cancelled or suspended.

Signal No. 2 – Classes at the pre-school, elementary and secondary levels in the affected area shall be automatically cancelled or suspended.

Signal No. 3 – Classes at pre-school, elementary, secondary and tertiary levels, including graduate school, as well as work in all government offices in the affected area shall be automatically cancelled or suspended.

Aquino also directed the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) to issue weather forecasts through various media outlets, including radio and television, not later than 10 p.m. of the previous day and 4:30 a.m. of the day of the intended cancellation or suspension of classes and work.

The President said that in the event where there are classes and work in the morning and suspension of classes and work is only effective in the afternoon, PAGASA should issue the forecast not later than 11 a.m. of that day.

At the same time, EO 66 provides that in the absence of typhoon warning signal from PAGASA, the concerned local officials shall implement the localized cancellation or suspension of classes and government work in coordination with the weather bureau and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), particularly in flood-prone areas.

The mayors serve as chairpersons of the Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (LDRRMC).

EO 66 sets the announcements of the cancellation or suspension not later than 4:30 a.m. of the same day or not later than 11 a.m. for suspension of classes and work in the afternoon.

The announcement should be made through different media outlets, landline communications and other technologies for communication within the community or locality.

In areas affected by disasters other than typhoons, classes in all levels in both public and private schools and government work shall only be cancelled or suspended upon the declaration by the President of a state of calamity on recommendation of the NDRRMC.

The concerned LDRRM office would then be responsible for the announcement of the suspension of classes and government work in the affected areas in coordination with the NDRRMC through various media outlets available under the circumstances.

EO 66 tasks the NDRRMC to immediately inform the Office of the President, through the Executive Secretary, of any or all cancellation or suspension of classes and government work in the affected areas.

Aquino, nevertheless, directed government agencies directly involved in disaster risk reduction and management to maintain the operations of their respective offices to ensure the continuity of the delivery of public service.

The heads of concerned government agencies shall determine which of their respective divisions or units shall maintain operations.

These government offices are the Office of the Executive Secretary and the Departments of National Defense, the Interior and Local Government, Social Welfare and Development, Science and Technology, Health, Public Works and Highways, and Education, among others, which operations the President or the NDRRMC may deem necessary.

The Office of the President, through the executive secretary, shall have concurrent authority with the NDRRMC to cancel or suspend classes and work in government offices during disasters, the EO stated.