The new policy aims to ensure safety, while also protecting vital instructional time by doing away from blanket suspensions.
In a statement, the Department of Education (DepEd) said on Thursday, November 12, that it has begun the nationwide orientation to align local government units (LGUs), school heads, and partner agencies on the implementation of the new Executive Order (EO) No. 130, s. 2026, and DepEd Order No. 014, s. 2026.
The landmark 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.
The DepEd order, meanwhile, establishes mechanisms for learning continuity during emergencies.
Education Secretary Sonny Angara said: “True learning continuity is about knowing when to continue, when to slow down, when to check in, and when to stop to prioritize safety. When emergencies happen, our immediate instinct must always be to protect our learners and teachers. However, suspending physical classes should no longer mean hitting complete pause on a child’s education.”
During the online orientation attended by more than 17,000 participants, DepEd officials emphasized that the primary goal of the new framework is to ensure learning continues safely when natural hazards like extreme heat, typhoons, or floods force the suspension of in-person classes.
In order to accommodate private schools and other stakeholders who were not able to join the initial session, DepEd said it will run another orientation to ensure all educational institutions are properly aligned with the new guidelines.
Meanwhile, to prevent confusion and give schools maximum flexibility, DepEd asked that LGUs do not specify the exact alternative learning mode to be used by schools covered by in-person class suspensions.
DepEd also highlighted that school capacities vary widely, and some institutions lack the infrastructure or connectivity required for online instruction.
Leaving the decision-making about Alternative Delivery Modes (ADM) to individual school leaders ensures learning modalities are practical, context-appropriate, and focused directly on learning without tying the hands of educators.
To complement the learner-centered guidelines, the framework also introduced a provision for alternative work arrangements for teaching and non-teaching personnel, to be implemented whenever practicable during class suspensions.
“By giving our local executives and school heads the flexibility and guidelines to switch to distance learning, light check-ins, or modular work, we are ensuring that learning adapts rather than stops,” Angara also noted.
The policy is being finalized through a Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) to be co-issued with the 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 the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
