VACCINES FIRST BEFORE CLASSES: DepEd studies mayor’s appeal to postpone classes to 2021

By Joseph B.A. Marzan

The Department of Education is studying the request of Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas to postpone classes in elementary and high school to 2021.

In a text message to Daily Guardian, DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones said she has seen Treñas’ letter and is studying it as of this writing.

Treñas asked for postponement of the opening of classes until next year due to the ongoing threat of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

In a press conference on May 9, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque announced that the national Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) has adopted the DepEd’s proposal to reopen classes on August 24, 2020.

The DepEd also issued Memorandum Order (MO) No. 007 on May 11 to reflect the changes in the next school year.

Classes in elementary, secondary, and senior high school levels ended early in mid-March based on the recommendation of the IATF-EID.

Treñas adopted the DepEd’s MO-007 in Executive Order (EO) No. 075-B which he had issued on May 20.

But DepEd officials said they are ready for reopening of classes on August 24 amid fears for the health and safety of pupils and students.

In a press conference on May 20, Treñas expressed his opposition to the reopening of classes amid the risks posed by COVID-19.

In another press conference on May 21, the mayor said that he did not see a reason to appeal the DepEd’s order.

But he agreed with parents who were worried about sending their kids to school while risks of contracting COVID-19 in the country remain uncertain.

In a letter published on the city government’s official Facebook page, Treñas cited the absence of a vaccine for COVID-19 as one of the reasons for his appeal.

He said that without a vaccine, sending children back to school may cause risk of exposure to COVID-19.

“This lack of vaccine may unduly expose the children, who are among the vulnerable persons, to the COVID-19 virus. Moreover, considering the natural instinct to play and socialize of children, there might be difficulty in imposing stringent social distancing measures among these children during recess and immediately before and after classes,” the letter stated.

The mayor’s letter also cited the current regulation on public transport to justify the appeal, saying that the influx of students may burden the city’s public transport.

Under EO No. 075 which placed the city under General Community Quarantine (GCQ), the capacity of each public transport was cut by 50 percent.

“To date, the riding public in Iloilo City is currently experiencing shortage in public transportation services such that some of our constituents were enduring long waiting times and/or choosing to walk to/from work. The additional influx of incoming students may further burden the city’s public transportation network,” it stated.