The League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP) is in favor of holding of face-to-face classes for college students level while waiting for the delivery of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) vaccines in the country.
In an interview over GMA News on Tuesday, Feb. 23, LPP president and Marinduque Governor Presbitero Velasco Jr. said students at the higher level of education are old enough to realize the value of following health protocols amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Velasco made the statement after President Duterte rejected the proposal to conduct face-to-face classes until August.
The National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) had proposed the resumption of pilot-testing of face-to-face classes, which was approved by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID).
On February 22, Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque announced that the President may only consider face-to-face classes in areas with low COVID-19 cases by August.
At present, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) approved face-to-face classes only for students of medicine and allied health sciences and in the universities in areas placed under the modified general community quarantine (MGCQ).
However, CHED chairperson Prospero de Vera III clarified that the participation of students in face-to-face classes is not mandatory.