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| Photo from Manila Bulletin |
Due to the
uncertainties brought by the pandemic in the country, the Senate unanimously on
Monday approved on third and final reading a bill which seeks to give President
Rodrigo Duterte the power to postpone the opening of classes later than August.
Twenty-three
of the senators approved Senate Bill No. 1541 during Monday’s session, two days
before the congressional break.
“The school
year shall start on the first Monday of June but not later than the last day of
August: Provided that in the event of a declaration of a state of emergency or
state of calamity, the President, upon the recommendation of the Secretary of
Education, may set a different date for the start of the school year,” read the
bill.
Under the
said bill, the President, with the recommendation of the Department of
Education, may set a different date to start the classes nationwide or in some
parts of the country.
Earlier,
the president has expressed his disapproval to open the classes until the
vaccine for coronavirus is available because of the great risk for the children.
“Unless I
am sure that they are really safe, it’s useless to be talking about opening of
classes,” said the President
“For me,
vaccine first. If the vaccine is already there, then it’s OK,” he added. “If no
one graduates, then so be it.” Duterte added
Meanwhile,
for its part, the Department of Education also express no opposition in the
said discretion.
“We have
welcomed the expansion-- the discretion on the school opening, including
especially in times of crisis like this," said DepEd Undersecretary
Nepomuceno Malaluan in a press briefing.
“If it is
to give the DOH (Department of Health), the executive, or the President broader
discretion in times of emergencies like these, we express no opposition to
that,” Malaluan added
A similar
bill filed at the House of Representative has also been approved on second
reading.
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