MANILA, Philippines — The country's health chief on Tuesday said he is for resuming in-person learning for students in areas with low coronavirus transmission, as the national debate on the issue of face-to-face classes with the pandemic still ongoing continues.
Secretary Franciso Duque III's remarks significantly differed with that of other members of President Rodrigo Duterte's Cabinet, who have cautioned against making a rushed decision on the matter.
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"My position on the matter is if the area is COVID-free or two to four weeks with zero cases, maybe it could be allowed there," he told CNN Philippines in mixed English and Filipino.
Education officials told senators at a hearing in the chamber last week that they will come up with recommendations for the president to allow limited physical learning in some areas.
Duque in the same interview added that minimum health standards should "on top of mind" in making the call.
"So long as there's low or minimal risk, I think that should be considered in the decision on whether face-to-face classes will be allowed," he said.
DepEd figures showed that over 25 million students are enrolled under the distance learning setup that was opened in October despite calls from groups to postpone citing teachers and students' difficulties in gadget availability, internet connection and errors in learning resources.
Last week, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said allowing students to return to school when more than a thousand infections are still being reported per day could spell trouble.
"You’re quick to recommend it, but it would turn out you don’t have a responsibility for that,” he said in a radio interview. “Should there be a spike, would you be the one treating (those infected)? Would you be the one shouldering the costs? Second, who will be held accountable?”
The president had long shunned the possibility of holding face-to-face learning while a vaccine for COVID-19 has yet to arrive.
The issue, however, returned to the headlines when Malacañang questioned the community learning hubs of Vice President Leni Robredo, which aims to help students without internet access.
Education Secretary Leonor Briones said the project by the Robredo, whose relationship with the administration had been far from normal, was not approved by the department.
But exchanges between her and Robredo showed that the education chief even called the effort as a "good initiative" as shown in letters released by Robredo's office.
By December 1, the health department has reported nearly 433,000 coronavirus infections, 8,418 dead and recoveries climbing to 398,782. — with reports from Neil Jayson Servallos, Janvic Mateo/The STAR