Craft guide, LGUs urged

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) urged local government units (LGU) to enact ordinances that will guide them on when to suspend classes and work due to bad weather.

DILG Assistant Secretary Epimaco Densing said that local government officials should sit down with their Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Offices (LDRRMO) and craft the guidelines.

He made the statement amid the confusion of the LGUs as well as among the parents and students during rainy days.

“It is right to localize suspension of classes kung walang signal 1, 2, 3, kasi ang nakakaalam ng situation sa mga local government natin ay local executives mismo (The ones who know the situaiton are the local executives themselves),” he said.

“Dapat magkaroon sila ng panuntunan kung kailan magdedeklara ng no classes or hindi. Ngayon naka-depend sila sa local government executives na kung tatamad-tamad at ayaw gumising ng maaga

hindi magkapag-declare on time (There should be a guideline on when to declare classes or no-classes. Right now, they depend on local government executives who are lazy and don’t get up to declare no-classes on time),” he added.

Densing said under Executive Order 66, local executives should announce class suspensions before 4:30 a.m. for morning classes and before 11 a.m. for afternoon sessions.

He said as early as May, LGU officials were instructed to convene with the LDRRMO to review their disaster preparedness programs to ensure the safety of the people in their area of responsibility.