More congressmen favor ‘No Vaccine, No Class Opening’ move

More congressmen are expressing support to the move of deferring the opening of classes in August or this year to ensure the safety of students and teachers against COVID-19.

Calls from members of the House of Representatives to defer the opening of classes until the availability of a vaccine for COVID-19 are even growing louder, as the safety of students in the normal school setting remains the biggest concern for policymakers.

“I agree with my colleagues that classes shouldn’t be reopened until a vaccine is available and we’ve been able to vaccinate our people,” Deputy Majority Leader and Camiguin lone district Rep. Xavier Jesus “XJ” Romualdo said.

“I know that this may take, perhaps at the very least, two years, but I’m more worried and afraid that we’ll see a great many COVID-19 illnesses and deaths if in person classes open soon,” he said.

The Department of Education (DepEd) has set the opening of classes for school year 2020-2021 on August 24 despite the pandemic. This is to comply with Republic Act (RA) No.7977, which says that the given school year “shall start on the first Monday of June but not later than the last day of August.”

But Romualdo argued that delaying up to two years’ worth of learning will still be worth it if it will save the lives of Filipino children.

“I mean isn’t [saving lives] the ultimate objective of everything the government has done in response to the pandemic? And if you think about how packed our public schools and classrooms are, there will surely be widespread transmission there and that transmission will surely reach the homes of students and teachers. What’s really frightening is if most of them will be asymptomatic when they’re infected,” he added.

RACE TO FIND CURE

Global science and pharmaceutical experts are racing to develop both a vaccine and a cure for the acute respiratory ailment known as COVID-19, which has infected over 5.2 million people and killed more than 340,000.

There’s no rigid timetable for either the vaccine or cure, with Romualdo’s two-year estimate based more on hope than anything else.

The Camiguin solon added: “It’ll be very difficult and certainly cause a lot of other problems and complications but I think, when making policy, we ought to err on the side of caution and on the side of protecting lives.”

Deputy Speaker and Pampanga 3rd district Rep. Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales Jr. had earlier batted for a “no vaccine, no classes” policy through House Resolution (HR) No. 876.

The measure, which covers classes in all schools, whether public or private, from pre-school to college, including vocational education and training, has been referred to Defeat COVID-19 Committee (DCC) co-chaired by Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and Majority Leader Martin Romualdez.

Gonzales said postponing the reopening of all public and private schools on August 24 will give the parents peace of mind.

He noted that some countries like France and South Korea that started easing restrictions and allowed to reopen classes recorded COVID-19 cases among students.

Although DepEd is encouraging distance learning through the Internet at the start of the school calendar, Gonzales this is not possible in the provinces where telecommunications signals are weak.

Even in many highly urbanized cities and towns, Internet and mobile phone communication is not reliable, he said.

“Face-to-face classes would have to be conducted sooner than later if we want our children to learn. And here lies the problem since it would be hard to require physical distancing in classrooms, especially in public schools, where a class is composed of no fewer than 40 students,” Gonzales stressed.

“With the growing COVID-19 threat still present and imminent to the safety of our citizens, especially our children, it is imperative that we take all precautions and preventive actions to protect our people from the disease,” he said.

Quezon City 2nd district Rep. Precious Castelo echoed Gonzales’s justifications for the rather radical class deferment.

“It would be hard for children to learn through the virtual classroom. Even us, members of the House of Representatives are having difficulty conducting virtual sessions and communicating with each other due to weak Internet and communications signals,” said the Metro Manila Development Committee vice chairperson.

“Public schools are crowded. There are 40 to 50 or more students in a small room, and there are two to three class shifts in many areas. How could they comply with physical distancing in such a situation?” Castelo asked.

“We can wait until a vaccine is available or until this crisis is over to send our children back to school. We should play it safe for the sake of our children and even our teachers and other school personnel,” she further said.

Ang Probinsyano party-list Rep. Ronnie Ong also asked DepEd to cancel the resumption of classes this year, saying that giving schools the option to hold virtual classes “also unnecessarily gives parents additional financial and emotional burden.”

“DepEd should just postpone the entire school year without any exception. Our policy should apply to all to avoid any confusion. We are unprepared for this crisis,” Ong said.

DUTERTE ONE WITH THE MOVE

President Rodrigo Duterte in his talk from Malacañang late last night also said he will not allow the opening of classes this August unless a vaccine is available against Covid.* (Ellson Quismorio and Charissa Luci-Atienza, Manila Bulletin; PNA; NDB)