Days after President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. signed an executive order updating the framework for such.
According to the Department of Education (DepEd), it is now finalizing a comprehensive Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) that will establish new guidelines on the suspension and the resumption of classes.
The agency has collaborated 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).
This landmark directive, which stems from Executive Order (EO) No. 130, s. 2026 recently signed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., aims to ensure safety, while also protecting vital instructional time by doing away from blanket suspensions.
EO No. 130, which amends EO No. 66, s. 2012, establishes a national framework governing the suspension and resumption of in-person classes, activities, and onsite work across all educational institutions and learning institutions for natural and human-induced hazards such as typhoons, torrential rains, storm surges, earthquakes, extreme heat, volcanic activities, hazardous air pollution, structural damage, and utility outages.
Under the automatic suspension mechanism, classes and onsite work will be suspended without the need for a separate declaration. Provided that the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS), Environmental Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR-EMB), or another competent government agency will issue a warning, advisory or alert that meets the prescribed technical thresholds.
Meanwhile, should there be no automatic suspension, local chief executives (who are acting under their capacities as chairpersons of their respective Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Councils) may declare localized suspensions based on documented risk assessments and prevailing conditions.
However, they are required to coordinate with concerned agencies and consult relevant barangay officials, schools division superintendents and heads of private educational institutions in determining the areas and duration covered by the suspension.
As regards to granular suspensions, schools and learning centers may declare granular suspensions in coordination with their respective local government units. This is applicable when there is an actual or imminent threats to the safety, health or welfare of learners and personnel are identified through site-specific assessments.
The order also emphasized that the suspension of in-person classes will not automatically mean the suspension of learning as eucational institutions and learning centers are directed to implement alternative learning continuity measures, whenever feasible and appropriate.
The EO also establishes mechanisms for the resumption of classes and onsite work.
Under automatic and localized resumption, all in-person classes, campus activities, and onsite work may resume once the suspension period expires. It can also be done if the applicable warning, advisory, alert level or declaration has been lifted, downgraded or expires, subject to the completion of required safety assessments and inspections.
“Schools may also seek earlier resumption while a localized suspension remains in effect, provided they secure the concurrence of the concerned local chief executive and demonstrate through documented assessments that conditions are safe,” the government explained.
Meanwhile, to ensure learning continuity during physical school closures, EO No. 130 mandates the immediate activation of alternative delivery modalities, such as modular instruction, online learning, take-home activity packets, or temporary learning spaces.
In a statement, Education Secretary Sonny Angara emphasized that EO 130 shifts these directive to data-backed decisions and prevents unnecessary learning loss, while also keeping school communities safe.
“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.”
