DepEd eyes data-driven approach to class suspensions under new EO

MANILA, Philippines— The Department of Education (DepEd) is moving away from blanket class cancellations to a more data-driven approach under Executive Order (EO) No. 130, which was issued recently by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.

According to its statement on Thursday, DepEd is finalizing a comprehensive joint memorandum circular (JMC) with partner agencies to set operational guidelines for suspending and resuming classes.

For this undertaking, DepEd is collaborating with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

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Education Secretary Sonny Angara emphasized that EO 130 updates suspension rules by shifting to data-backed decisions, preventing unnecessary learning loss while keeping school communities safe.

“Under the leadership of President Bongbong Marcos, our approach to learner safety has evolved to precision-driven science. When disasters and environmental hazards strike, our decisions must be swift, clear, and firmly anchored on data from scientific agencies like Pagasa and Phivolcs,” Angara said.

“We owe it to our children to keep them safe, but we must also curb learning loss by ensuring they return to class the moment conditions permit,” he stressed.

Pagasa is the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, and Phivolcs is the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.

EO 130 establishes a national framework governing the suspension and resumption of in-person classes, activities, and onsite work across all educational institutions and learning centers.

Amending EO 66 (s. 2012), the new directive rationalizes decision-making for natural and human-induced hazards, which include typhoons, torrential rains, storm surges, earthquakes, extreme heat, volcanic activities, hazardous air pollution, structural damage, and utility outages.

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To implement EO 130 effectively, the upcoming JMC sets the operational guidelines and technical thresholds governing three distinct mechanisms for class suspensions and resumptions.

Automatic suspensions are triggered immediately when official advisories from scientific agencies reach predefined technical thresholds. In-person classes automatically resume once advisories expire or are lifted, and required safety assessments are cleared.

Localized suspensions are declared by local chief executives (LCEs) for local risks. Under EO 130, LCEs are mandated to make localized suspensions as specific and targeted as possible, specifying precise geographic boundaries down to specific barangays or school zones rather than issuing citywide or municipal blanket cancellations whenever feasible. /atm