Back to school

The entire national capital region (NCR) along with 40 other regions, provinces and cities around the country will remain under the most relaxed pandemic Alert Level-1 starting today until June 15. Under Alert Level 1, movement of persons, regardless of age and comorbidities, is allowed. Full on-site capacity in private establishments and government agencies is also allowed, subject to minimum public health standards.

A bigger number though of areas all over the Philippines are still classified as much higher risks for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases. Per the evaluation of the Inter-Agency Task Force in the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID), 50 provinces and 20 cities were retained in Alert Level-2. This means the continuing imposition of more stringent anti-COVID restrictions such as 50 percent-capacity for indoor establishments like restaurants, churches, business offices, factories, etc.

Even with more than 70 million Filipinos already fully inoculated with anti-COVID vaccines, our Department of Health (DOH) is keeping close guards against a resurgence of the COVID-19 here in our country. The IATF is not taking any chances with the sub-variants of COVID-19 still evolving out of the Omicron.

The more infectious Omicron BA2.12.1 sub-variants have notably infected even those already jabbed with anti-COVID vaccines. As of yesterday, the DOH record showed a total of 22 people were infected with it even though all of them have been fully vaccinated.

Of the fully vaccinated, the DOH reported only 14.1 million so far have received the first booster shot. Thus, the IATF is pushing for Filipinos to get their second booster shot, especially for the most vulnerable ones like the senior citizens, health workers and those with comorbidities.

Among the fully vaccinated Filipinos include 19.5 million workers. The NCR recorded the biggest number of fully vaccinated individuals, followed by the CaLaBaRzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) with 6.7 million; and Central Luzon with 5.4 million. Obviously, the NCR and these parts of the country with highest vaccination coverage qualified them to be included under the most relaxed pandemic Alert Level 1.

With more and increased economic activities taking place, these parts of the country have largely served as the engines of growth for the first quarter of this year. As reported earlier by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), the country’s domestic economy grew by 8.3 percent during the first three months this year.

From the latest data and science submitted to the IATF for discussions, Socio-Economic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua strongly believes there are solid and valid grounds to safely re-open the entire Philippine economy by the second half of this year. For starters, the outgoing NEDA Director General reiterated his call for the resumption of face-to-face classes in the elementary and high schools all over the country to push in full throttle the growth of the Philippine economy.

President Duterte, however, earlier took a stand that Alert Level 1 should stay “until we are very sure that everything is really alright.” President Duterte has thrice extended the Proclamation of a state of public calamity due to COVID-19 pandemic as public health crisis. The third Proclamation extended the effectivity until September this year.

Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in March, 2020, President Duterte initially imposed the nationwide lockdown for several months. However, the severe impact of a lockdown took a heavy toll on the Philippine economy that took a nosedive. For the first time in decades, the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) shrunk by as much as nine percent. The IATF recommended instead the adoption of a “granular” lockdown, with the DOH setting the Alert Level system from 1 to 5, with 5 as the highest risk level.

At the height of the pandemic in 2020, the Department of Education (DepEd) adopted the so-called “blended learning” while the physical attendance to schools of teachers and students were suspended all over the Philippines. The “blended learning” is a combination of online teaching and modules that were given out to students to study at the safety of their homes.

“Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, we never stopped the education process, we did not close schools. Children were not deprived of quality education amid the health crisis with the implementation of blended learning and digital education,” DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones pointed out.

Several times, Briones attempted but failed to sway President Duterte into letting schoolchildren to return to their classrooms. It was due to the series of surges of COVID-19 cases in our country from foreign variants that breached our borders. The last one was the Omicron that came in January this year.

In November last year, Briones was finally able to convince President Duterte to at least “pilot-test” the resumption of face-to-face classes initially in 120 public schools across the country. From the pilot-testing, 73.28 percent of the total of 34,238 public and private schools were now recommended already for the resumption of face-to-face classes.

To start the process rolling in time for the opening of School Year 2022-2023, Briones explained, school administrators only need to get the clearance from the DOH, from their respective local government units (LGUs), and the permission of parents for their children to attend face-to-face classes.

After he steps down as NEDA chief, Chua disclosed, he, too, wants to go back to school and study in order “to stay relevant.” A member of the IATF, Chua explained, the resumption of face-to-face classes has the biggest multiplier effect to the country’s economic recovery.

Chua has recommended this as the last official act of President Duterte whose administration ends on June 30.

After he retires from the public life, the 75-year-old President Duterte is reportedly mulling to teach, presumably as a law professor. So everybody goes back to school.