SAN JOSE, Antique – Due to health concerns brought by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) in this province has appealed for the postponement of the opening of schools this Aug. 24.
Led by Libertad mayor Mary Jean Te, LMP-Antique requested Gov. Rhodora Cadiao and this province’s Inter-Agency Task Force on COVID-19 to endorse their letter of appeal to the Office of the President.
LMP-Antique had a meeting with Cadiao and the task force at the Binirayan Gymnasium here on May 22.
During the discussion of the officials, the request to move the opening of schools to 2021 was initially brought up by Belison mayor Christopher Piccio and supported by Sebaste Mayor Gaseva Recopuerto.
“The lives of the school children will be at risk with the schools opening on August 24,” Piccio said, adding that there is still no available vaccine yet for COVID-19.
Antique lone district representative Loren Legarda, for her part, said through a phone patch during the meeting that she will file an amendment to Republic Act (RA) 7797 this week so that the Department of Education (DepEd) would be given leeway to possibly postpone the school opening.
Legarda said RA 7797, or An Act to Lengthen the School Calendar from 200 Days to Not More Than 220 Class Days, provides that the school year shall start on the first Monday of June but not later than the last day of August.
“It is because of this law that the DepEd is making its decision for the August 24 school opening,” she added.
The date 24 is the last Monday of August.
According to Legarda, the amendment she will file will make the school calendar open-dated.
DepEd, meanwhile, assured that the opening of schools on Aug. 24 will not necessarily mean a physical opening of classes in its Antique division.
As planned, students and teachers will have modular sessions due to the poor internet connectivity in this province.
Under modular learning, students will just be asked to report to their respective schools two or three times a week, while the rest of the days will be for them to work on the activity sheets prepared by their teachers.(With a report from PNA/PN)
