MONDAY witnessed the worst flooding that Metro Manila has experienced in recent years. Citing the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration’s Science Garden station in Quezon City, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority said that the habagat rains dumped 201.7 millimeters (mm) of rain in just five hours that day, almost half of the rainfall Tropical Storm Ondoy dumped in the nation’s capital region in 2009 (about 455 mm of rain over 24 hours).
While some local government units (LGUs) suspended classes in their localities as early as Sunday evening, some opted to adopt a wait-and-see posture. And that includes Quezon City. The city government of Manila, on the other hand, suspended classes only up to the secondary level.
However, by the time Quezon City decided to suspend classes and Manila to suspend classes in the tertiary level, the flood was slowly rising, and heavy rains were already battering almost the whole of Metro Manila, flooding roads and with some areas with floodwaters reaching up to chest level.
These resulted in some netizens bashing Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte and Manila Mayor Isko “Yorme” Moreno for what some described as negligence in the performance of their duties.
Belmonte responded by saying she was actually up as early as 4 in the morning, monitoring everything and that she decided not to suspend classes that day because “there was [as yet] no Yellow rainfall warning for Metro Manila” at that time.
“Our sensors across the city recorded generally light rain during the students’ travel window,” she said, adding that the weather forecast warned of rain later that day.
Unfortunately, the weather suddenly shifted and poured rain relentlessly for five hours from 9 in the morning to 2 in the afternoon.
Yorme also did not escape unscathed from the netizens’ bashing as students from a university in España in Manila condemned the delayed suspension of classes on Monday by the Manila city government, leaving thousands of students stranded on campuses.
And as Mayor Joy puts it, “I, as a parent who happened to brave the floodwaters that day to fetch my kid, also understand where the basher’s wrath was coming from.”
I also understand the situation Belmonte and Yorme are in. For the past three weeks, classes have been suspended on and off due to the effects of typhoons and habagat rains. These class suspensions are taking a heavy toll on our children’s education. Schools are operating on a strict 201 calendar days for 2026 to 2027, which is supposed to end on April 8 as activities have already been lined up for the benefit of the students’ learning.
Any suspension of classes would result in adjustments, including adopting special classes on days supposedly reserved for the students’ rest.
And this, I believe, is the reason why some mayors, Belmonte and Moreno included, opt to wait until the last minute to go for class suspension. And I have to agree with them.
However, if I may give my two cents’ worth, since Belmonte has already stated she has instructed her team to review protocols on class suspensions, I think any order for suspension should be in real time. I mean, if classes have to be suspended, then suspend them immediately.
Like what happened last Monday, the announcement was made at around 9:30 to 10 a.m., but it was meant for afternoon classes. Students from the morning shifts were to be dismissed at 12 noon that day. However, rainfall was at its heaviest during that time. So, by the time students were allowed to go home, the streets were already flooded. In the case of those who were fetched in private vehicles or school service, they had to endure unexpected detours as their drivers had to look for a safe passage to avoid getting stranded in floodwaters.
Those who did not have rides arranged for them had to endure walking to their homes under heavy rainfall as most public utilities had decided to cease plying their routes.
These could have been avoided or the effects minimized if the class suspension were deemed immediately executory and the students dismissed at the time the suspension order was released and did not have to wait for a few more hours.
Anyway, we have alternative modes of learning that could easily be activated.
I hope the chief executives of the different local government units could consider this in reviewing their respective class suspension protocols.
