President Duterte has approved the recommendation of the Department of Education (DepEd) to expand the limited face-to-face classes in areas under alert levels 1 and 2.
This was confirmed by acting Presidential Spokesperson Karlo Nograles during a press briefing on Tuesday, Jan. 18.
According to Nograles, the President "has no objection" on the presentation made by Education Secretary Leonor Briones during Duterte's recent public address, recommending the “progressive expansion” of face-to-face classes in areas under alert levels 1 and 2 by February.
"So with no objection, kumbaga walang objection si Pangulo doon (the President has no objection) and as after the presentation ni (of) Sec. Briones then tuluy-tuloy po nila yung pag-aaral nila (they will continue to study this)," Nograles said.
The Cabinet Secretary further said that the recommendation is also subject to the concerned local government units' support and the consent of parents and school stakeholders.
He said the DepEd and the Department of Health will work together in assessing the expansion or pilot implementation of the face-to-face classes.
Briones recommended that during the expansion phase, only vaccinated teachers and non-teaching personnel will be allowed to participate while the participation of vaccinated students shall be preferred.
The recommendation came after the "highly successful" pilot run of the face-to-face classes from Nov. 15 to Dec. 22 last year which were participated by 287 schools and 15,000 students.
The expansion does not include schools in areas under alert level 3 such as the National Capital Region (NCR) and Region IV-A.
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