Laguna governor suspends onsite classes for earthquake preparedness

Metro Manila, Philippines - The governor of Laguna suspended face-to-face classes for two weeks for earthquake preparedness despite a constant reminder from experts that nothing can predict tremors.

In a Facebook video, Governor Sol Aragones said classes should be on remote mode from Oct. 14 to 31 for all grade levels to prepare for what she called the “worst case scenario” – in case the “Big One” or the magnitude 7.2 quake hit Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

This came in the wake of back-to-back strong earthquakes that rocked Cebu and Davao Oriental in the last two weeks.

Aragones said she understands the concern of parents who are worried about their children in case an earthquake hits when they are in school.

The governor said she met with officials of the Department of Education in Laguna to discuss the structural integrity of school buildings on Monday, Oct. 13.

During the two-week suspension, Aragones said she will direct local governments, through an executive order, to inspect school structures and determine safe points when tremors hit.

“Ang lilipas na mga araw na walang klase o walang online classes, ay pwede po nating habulin iyan, pero ang buhay ng tao ay isa lang, hindi na pwedeng maibalik po. Ito po ang dahilan kung bakit napagdesisyunan po natin…dahil may panganib na nakaamba at ito din po ang kinumpirma at sinang-ayunan ng iba’t ibang departamento o institusyon dito sa atin na kinausap natin,” she said.

[Translation: The days without classes or online classes can be made up for, but a person's life is only one it can never be brought back. This is the reason why we decided to suspend classes. Because there are potential threats and some agencies we spoke to agreed.]

In a statement, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said it disagrees with class cancellations anchored on predicting an earthquake.

“We agree with the suspension of classes if it is for checking the integrity of buildings. But if it’s because of an earthquake that is about to happen in the next two weeks, then we beg to differ,” the agency said, reiterating that no one knows when tremors will happen.

The Department of Education said the schools division office is allowed to carry out preventive suspensions to conduct structural inspections for disasters like earthquakes.