Zamboanga City. INQUIRER FILES
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — To avert any untoward incident among students due to the rising heat brought about by the dry spell, the local government here has ordered the general suspension of in-person classes and an immediate shift to online instruction at all levels.
Mayor John Dalipe issued the order on April 5 and was effective immediately upon the recommendation of the local government’s El Niño task force.
The task force noted that the dry spell has caused water scarcity in the city since March that affected all schools. Learners also had to contend with water shortage, apart from bearing the heat which has averaged 40 degrees Celsius here.
READ: Schools suspend, tweak in-person classes April 8-12 amid heat
End of the dry spell
Executive Order N0. 2024-025 covers public and private schools at all levels and is effective until the end of the dry spell, which could be in June.
According to City Administrator Wendell Sotto, on-site classes may resume if the heat index in the succeeding days, per the forecast of the state weather bureau, falls below 40ºC.
If on-site classes are ongoing and the heat is rising, school administrators can call these off, Sotto added.
On Monday, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration’s (Pagasa) five-day heat index forecast showed average heat here to register at 39ºC on Thursday.
Dalipe also ordered school officials to ensure a sufficient supply of water on their campuses before deciding to hold on-site classes.
Vinnie Gerard Elicano, senior program specialist of the Schools Division Office of the Department of Education, said they have already prepared for this.
READ: School heads can suspend in-person classes due to heat – DepEd
Employees also covered
“All school personnel and learners are advised to bring their own drinking water. For the use of comfort rooms and other activities needing water, coordination with the school and community was already established,” Elicano added.
Dalipe also ordered the adoption of flexible work schedules for government workers that enable employees who belong to vulnerable groups, such as pregnant women, the elderly, persons with disabilities and those with medical conditions, to work from home.
Dalipe directed government agencies to allow appropriate comfortable clothing apart from their regular uniforms to help combat the heat.
The flexible work scheme includes three-hour shifts for traffic enforcers and night shifts for street sweepers.
In South Cotabato province, at least nine local governments had modified learning delivery to deal with the rising heat.
Afternoon classes are suspended in Koronadal City, and the towns of Polomolok, Tupi, Tantangan, Banga, Sto. Niño and Tboli.
In the town of Surallah, on-site classes are only held every Monday and Tuesday, and online for the rest of the week. In Norala town, in-person classes are only held every Tuesday and Thursday.
These modified class schedules end within the week or next week, except in Koronadal City, where the local government set the schedule as “indefinite.”