Marcos's New Executive Order: Schools Can Resume Classes Even While Local Class Suspensions Are in Effect

I work at a private school, and I don't think any school will reverse a class suspension and hold classes anyway. Here's why: 1. It's confusing and parents will get upset. They thought classes were suspended, so suddenly hearing the school is holding classes would shock them. Not every school has a system for relaying internal announcements. There are emails and messengers, but not every school uses a group chat with all the parents, and that's the channel where word spreads. And not every parent keeps checking their email. 2. If something happens to a child, if getting to school is difficult, or if a child has to wade through flooded roads, the school risks taking the blame. 3. Coordinating with school transport services becomes a logistical problem for everyone.

Edit: lol, OP replied to me and then blocked me. So let me just say one thing. I was given examples of situations where this policy could be used, along with the intent behind DepEd pushing it, but OP excerpted only the parts that obscure that intent and concluded that schools and mayors would willingly, surely take on the liability of a student dying after opening a school following a flood or an earthquake. The article you posted also says this applies only to local government class suspensions, not automatic suspensions, that the campus must first be safe and accessible, and that the local chief executive must agree, but you left all that out. So for a school to reopen, the school has to be safe, students must not have to cross flooded roads to get there, and the mayor has to OK it. I don't think this will be used during floods. No school or mayor would do that knowing that if a child drowned it would ruin them (politicians aside, I don't know). It could be used when there's a province-wide suspension. When I was in Dumaguete in 2025, heavy rain hit northern Negros and the governor declared a province-wide class suspension. The south had no rain or strong winds, and in a case like that, if I understood correctly, schools could open with the mayor's approval. The article also says that when a suspension is declared, learning shouldn't automatically stop and alternatives like online classes should be found, so it looks like DepEd's intent is to reduce absences. Why didn't you post the whole article instead of stripping out the context and picking out sentences?

"Local chief executives must now specify the areas covered by the suspension down to the barangay level, and if possible individual schools, and state how long it lasts. They are supposed to consult the barangay captain, the schools division superintendent, and the private school head as needed." Will these announcements get out in time? There's just too much to coordinate.

Some cities go overboard with class suspensions. A little rain and they suspend classes right away. The education system is already useless, teachers and parents are getting lazy, students are getting dumber, and now they want to cut even more classes. Schools these days only churn out lazy, dumb people.