Philippines President Marcos signs executive order on class suspensions

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has signed Executive Order No. 130, establishing a new framework for the suspension and resumption of in-person classes and on-site work in public and private educational institutions.

The order introduces three distinct mechanisms for managing suspensions: automatic, localized, and granular. Automatic suspensions will occur without separate declarations when technical thresholds are met by warnings from agencies such as PAGASA, PHIVOLCS, or the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Localized suspensions may be declared by governors and mayors based on documented risk assessments and prevailing conditions.

The granular mechanism empowers individual school heads to suspend classes when an actual or imminent threat to the safety, health, or welfare of students and personnel is identified through site-specific assessments. This applies when no automatic or localized suspension is in effect. Additionally, school heads are authorized to declare the resumption of face-to-face classes once they determine that conditions have been sufficiently mitigated, provided they coordinate with local government authorities.