MANILA — The Metro Manila Council (MMC) is set to create a technical working group (TWG) that will formulate uniform guidelines on class suspensions in the metropolis.
The initiative will help ensure the coordination of local government units (LGUs) in the metropolis during inclement weather caused by heavy rains and typhoons.
“Kailangan mayroon isang common na polisiya na basehan kung paano at kailan magde-declare ng walang pasok (It is urgent that a common policy should be set as basis on when and how to declare class suspensions). There should be proper coordination among LGUs,” Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista, Chairman of the MMC Special Traffic Committee, said in a media interview on the sidelines of its regular meeting in Mandaluyong City Tuesday.
He said the TWG will be crafting guidelines on the class suspensions to the MMC within two weeks.
The TWG will be composed of all Metro Manila DRRMO officers, Commission on Higher Education, Department of Education, Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), Department of Public Works and Highways, and Office of Civil Defense.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has urged LGUs to suspend classes within their jurisdictions promptly as it has received complaints that some local officials have delayed the suspension of classes.
The DILG warned that charges will be filed if local officials fail to act despite warnings from the weather bureau PAGASA.
Executive Order No. 66, signed by former president Benigno Aquino III, states that local chief executives may suspend classes and work in government offices in coordination with PAGASA and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council in the absence of typhoon signal warnings. (Aerol John Pateña/PNA)
