Camille Naredo

Pupils cross elevated metal walkways at the Doña Damiana Deleon Macam Memorial Elementary School in Calumpit, Bulacan on June 8, 2026. The platforms were built to provide students with safe access to classrooms and allow them to attend class even during heavy flooding. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

CALUMPIT SCHOOL- FLOODING

Francis Orcio

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/178678086542420260608-calumpit-school-opening-flooding-JC0217.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960" alt="Pupils cross elevated metal walkways at the Doña Damiana Deleon Macam Memorial Elementary School in Calumpit, Bulacan on June 8, 2026. The platforms were built to provide students with safe access to classrooms and allow them to attend class even during heavy flooding. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Pupils cross elevated metal walkways at the Doña Damiana Deleon Macam Memorial Elementary School in Calumpit, Bulacan on June 8, 2026. The platforms were built to provide students with safe access to classrooms and allow them to attend class even during heavy flooding. <em>Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA -- The Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) is not recommending another immediate change to the school calendar despite the recent string of class suspensions caused by heavy rainfall and the southwest monsoon in August, saying the newly implemented three-term calendar should first be evaluated for its ability to cushion weather-related disruptions. </p><p>EDCOM 2 Executive Director Dr. Karol Mark Yee said the country should avoid repeatedly moving the opening of classes in response to weather disruptions, as climate change is expected to bring both more intense heat and typhoons that can interrupt classroom instruction regardless of when the school year begins.</p><p>“I think ayaw natin iyong padalos-dalos na pagbabago. Ang mahalaga siguro sa ngayon, talagang mag-monitor tayo, aralin natin. We know from studies that climate change is here to stay. And yes, we understand that unfortunately, the repercussions will intensify further because of the challenges brought about by climate change,&quot; Yee said in an interview Saturday.</p><div><a class="fr-green" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/1/26/edcom-ii-final-report-on-issues-necessary-reforms-in-education-launched-1907"><strong>EDCOM II final report on issues, ‘necessary reforms’ in education launched</strong></a> </div><p>“Kaka-implement lamang ng three-term calendar, tingnan natin ano iyong impact nito. Nakabuti ba? Paano nito na-save ang learning? Kung may kailangan pang reporma, gawin din natin,” he added.</p><p>The Department of Education (DepEd) shifted to a three-term school calendar this school year, partly to provide learning buffers within each term. Yee said the arrangement was designed to allow roughly 55 days of learning per term while anticipating several days of class suspensions.</p><p>He said the current measures remain sufficient to absorb the learning losses so far, but warned that the situation needs closer monitoring, particularly as the country enters the months when more tropical cyclones are typically expected.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>CLIMATE-RESILIENT LEARNING</strong></div><p>Yee noted that EDCOM 2 has monitored class suspensions since 2023 and found that schools lose an average of 40 to 50 instructional days annually to suspensions caused by calamities, typhoons, extreme heat and other disruptions. In its first year of monitoring, the commission recorded as many as 53 days lost. </p><p>This makes learning continuity strategies particularly important in a country where climate-related disruptions are expected to persist.</p><p>“Pero ang mahalaga dito, dapat medyo climate resilient din iyong ating pagkatuto na hindi tayo laging nakadepende lamang sa face-to-face classes kasi we understand that we are also in one of the most vulnerable parts of the world when it comes to climate change,&quot; Yee said.</p><p>&quot;So, sa atin, baka kailangan natin tanggapin, matututo tayo dapat na may modular learning or meron din tayong learning that happens at home,&quot; he added.</p><p>He stressed, however, that this does not mean simply retaining the emergency-style modular learning used during the COVID-19 pandemic.</p><p>Instead, schools should now develop age-appropriate learning strategies based on evidence and experience gathered from repeated weather disruptions.</p><p>“Dapat ready na tayo with materials and pedagogies and strategies so that iyong mga bata sa iba&#x27;t ibang edad, alam natin paano sila best pwedeng matuto kahit na hindi tayo face-to-face,” Yee said.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>LEARNING CONTINUITY PLANS BEFORE DISASTERS</strong></div><p>For EDCOM 2, preparation should begin before classes are suspended, not after a disaster has already disrupted instruction.</p><p>Yee said schools should have a learning continuity plan at the beginning of every school year that identifies the circumstances of individual learners, including whether they have access to gadgets, learning materials and adults who can guide them at home.</p><div><a class="fr-green" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/5/28/87-of-grade-11-students-assessed-are-non-independent-readers-edcom-2-1912"><strong>87% of Grade 11 students assessed are &#x27;non-independent&#x27; readers — EDCOM 2</strong></a></div><p>“Dapat ang DepEd at dapat ang mga paaralan sa simula ng bawat taon may learning continuity plan. Anong ibig sabihin ng learning continuity plan? Unang-una alam natin may gadget ba &#x27;yan sa bahay? Anong resources ang available sa bahay?” Yee said. </p><p>“Iyong magulang ba niya, kayang manatili sa bahay para magturo sa anak? Ikalawa, nakapag-aral ba iyong mga magulang? O kaya bang mag-guide? Kasi kung hindi, meron bang ibang pwedeng gumabay sa tahanan?” he added.</p><p>The goal, he said, is to identify students who need additional support and provide targeted interventions rather than impose a single learning-continuity approach on every child.</p><p>Those interventions could include additional tutoring, peer support, parent orientation or volunteers who can assist groups of students whose parents or guardians cannot provide academic guidance at home.</p><p>DepEd has also begun distributing learning packets intended to give students materials they can use during class suspensions. Yee said EDCOM 2 is monitoring the rollout and awaiting a full report on whether the packets have reached all grade levels across the country.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="960" height="540" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hf2cT6QRsDg?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong></div>

<p>The Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) is not recommending another immediate change to the school calendar despite the recent string of class suspensions caused by heavy rainfall and the southwest monsoon in August.</p>

The Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) is not recommending another immediate change to the school calendar despite the recent string of class suspensions caused by heavy rainfall and the southwest monsoon in August.

EDCOM 2 rejects rush to shift school calendar, pushes climate-ready learning

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EDCOM 2 rejects rush to shift school calendar, pushes climate-ready learning

Francis Orcio,

ABS-CBN News

Published August 15, 2026 04:10 PM PHT

Read More:

DepEd

Class Suspension

EDCOM 2

Learning Crisis

Education

Climate Change

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