DAVAO CITY – The provincial government of Davao Occidental suspended classes in public schools on December 4 and 5 as part of the inspection of all public infrastructures and other facilities following the magnitude 7.4-earthquake on Saturday night, December 2.
“All school heads, safety officers, and disaster risk reduction and management teams are advised to conduct a thorough inspection of all school buildings (and other facilities) to ensure the safety of all our students, teachers, and employees,” Memorandum Order No. 141 signed by Davao Occidental Gov. Franklin Bautista said.
Bautista encouraged all schools and teachers to shift to asynchronous classes or blended modes instead of face-to-face classes.
Other areas in the Davao region – Davao City and three other municipalities in Davao del Sur, Davao del Norte, Davao de Oro, and Davao Oriental, only suspended classes on December 4 to enable rapid damage assessment teams to conduct inspection of schools.
Acting Davao City Mayor J. Melchor Quitain Jr. said that private schools in this city were given the discretion to suspend classes but were encouraged to do so for the safety of students and their employees.
Quitain said Department of Education (DepEd) Division here was tasked to coordinate with the DCER-TF for the conduct of school-building inspections and assessment while a work-from-home (WFH) arrangement shall be adopted in all national and local government offices.
The WFH directive includes all the government-owned and controlled corporations here, except for offices performing safety and security, health, social services, and disaster and emergency response services.
“All private offices and establishments are given the discretion to suspend work or adopt a WFH arrangement, but are encouraged to do so for the safety and convenience of their employees,” Quitain said.
Quitain added that the Davao city government is duty-bound to safeguard the public's welfare and undertake measures to prevent any untoward incidents or disasters that earthquakes and aftershocks may cause.