Joy Belmonte —GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
Sometimes it takes a tropical storm—and thousands of angry parents—to make a well-entrenched political scion admit a mistake.
Quezon City Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte came under fire amid the heavy downpour on Thursday for her late announcement to suspend classes due to bad weather, a decision she made after issuing a predawn statement that she could not just join the “bandwagon” of cities calling off school that morning.
Belmonte, who was in charge while Mayor Herbert Bautista was overseas, later admitted that she “truly deserved” the criticism, but explained that her earlier position against class suspension was based on a forecast that the rains induced by Tropical Storm “Gorio” would be manageable.
In a statement posted on Facebook at 4:21 a.m., the city official said she had conferred with Michael Marasigan, acting chief of the city’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (DRRMC), on the weather bureau’s forecast that Metro Manila would experience light to moderate rains.
Bandwagon effect
“It was a challenge for us not to be swayed by the bandwagon effect,” Belmonte said, alluding to other local governments that had already declared class suspensions, some as early as Wednesday afternoon.
The vice mayor also warned of the “adverse effect” of students missing class, citing literacy data showing that 30 percent of elementary school children in the country manage to graduate “without knowing how to read.”
A Sampaloc tree has fallen on a car at the corner of Sct. Gandia and Sct. Tobias Streets, Quezon City, due to heavy rains brought about by Tropical Storm “Gorio” on Thursday. —NIÑO JESUS ORBETA
‘Insensitive’
But city residents worried about their children would hear none of that, calling Belmonte out for her “insensitive” handling of the matter. Many vented their ire online, quickly making the vice mayor a trending topic on social media.
“You know there are a lot of flood-prone areas in QC,” one comment on Facebook read. “You’re just lucky to be living in the better parts of the city.”
“As a teacher and mother, I put a premium on education, but should we sacrifice health for education?” asked another post.
Belmonte should have stuck with the “better safe than sorry” mentality, said college student Jay Vee Loresto. “Now, ‘sorry’ is her only option.”
“Didn’t she realize that there might be a science behind the bandwagon?” one vexed parent added. It also annoyed her to read a portion of Belmonte’s Facebook post saying the vice mayor would be “going to sleep” after making that statement.
Others saw the fiasco as a serious blow to the political career of Belmonte, whose father, Feliciano, was a former Quezon City mayor and Speaker of the House of Representatives.
An hour later, Belmonte edited her Facebook statement, saying the parents “must exercise their judgment and prerogative to keep their children home, especially those living in more risky areas.”
Around 11 a.m., the city government finally announced that classes on all levels were suspended—just when students were either on their way to school or already on their campuses.
Thursday’s heavy downpour turns roads into virtual rivers across Metro Manila, paralyzing traffic but providing watery playgrounds for children. —GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
In an Inquirer interview, Belmonte admitted her mistake and said she welcomed the criticism.
“With the criticism, what I see are the feelings of a mother who is worried for the safety and health of her child,” she said. “As a mother myself, that should also have been the first thing in my mind.”
She said it was her “very first time” to consult the DRRMC on such concerns.
“Marasigan did not want to suspend (classes) just because other cities did,” she said. “We had experienced suspending classes before, and then the rains would stop and mothers would get angry at us since it was wasteful for the children’s education.”
Belmonte maintained that she still had “full trust and confidence” in the council. “These are very technical issues, hence my dependence on the DRRMC,” she said. “But I really take full responsibility.”
But she took exception to comments that found her indecisive. She and Marasigan, for example, took into account the Department of Education’s policy that allows only 20 days for class disruptions, she stressed.
In her second Facebook post, Belmonte said the nasty comments were “truly deserved.”
“Now it is time to make amends to our children and their parents,” she wrote. “They deserve much better than me. They deserve a better leader.”
“You cannot please everybody. Maybe tomorrow, I will be more firm with my decision,” she added in the interview. —WITH A REPORT FROM PAULINE FAYE TRIA