QUEZON – A municipal mayor in this province wants the “summer” vacation period to be moved back to April and May for the benefit of students and teachers. “The summer season presents challenges for both students and teachers and reinstating the summer vacation period would provide a much-needed respite for them to recharge and prepare for the next academic year,” said General Luna Mayor Matt Erwin Florido, who elevated his request to Vice President and Department of Education Secretary Sara Duterte through a letter. Florido said he believed his proposal will be given due attention and consideration by Duterte. He added that the extreme heat during summer makes it difficult for learners to focus and absorb knowledge, and ultimately this, he said, leads to health issues and fatigue. The dry season, also called summer in the Philippines, usually starts in March and lasts until May. DepEd had already said it has no plan to move the summer vacation of students back to April and May despite the hot weather. “Taking time off this season would be beneficial for learners to maintain good physical and mental health, and to be better prepared for the upcoming academic year,” stressed Florido. “It would also provide teachers with an opportunity to rest and reenergize, which would lead to a more productive school year,” he added. Florido said that his proposal was supported by an online survey he conducted, in which out of 1,300 respondents, 99.6 percent favored bringing back the summer vacation period, and that the result indicates that the vast majority of Filipinos share the belief that this change would greatly benefit the education sector. He is hopeful that Duterte will consider it as an initial step toward making the necessary changes to the academic school calendar.