BACOLOD CITY, Negros Occidental, Philippines – Soaring heat forecast to reach “extreme caution” levels or up to 41 degrees Celsius here led sitting Mayor Alfredo Abelardo “Albee” Benitez to declare the suspension of face-to-face classes in public schools from pre-elementary to high school levels for two days, today, 1 April 2024, and tomorrow, 2 April 2024.
Benitez, however, left the decision to suspend to private school administrators even as he urged those in public schools to find “alternative” ways of instruction.
Down south, Kabankalan City Mayor Benjie Miranda also ordered suspensions at all levels in both public and private schools only for today, 1 April 2024.
As the farmlands dry up across the province, this city of more than half a million people are also facing a piped-in water shortage due to the inability of private water distributor Primewater Construction Corporation to provide adequate supply.
Lawyer Caesar Distrito, the recently appointed spokesman of Benitez told DNX only public school classes were suspended under the Benitez order as most of the classrooms in the estimated 70 public schools here have no air conditioning.
Benitez, however, said private schools can continue physical classes since these have air-conditioned classrooms.
He added Benitez is also looking at the possibility of coming up with a general policy on suspending classes based on official heat indexes.
Current Philippine guidelines provide only for class suspensions during storms and other natural calamities.
