EDCOM II Urges Overhaul of Class Suspension Rules Amid Learning Crisis

The Philippines is facing calls for a sweeping overhaul of its class suspension rules, as a parliamentary commission warns that broad cancellations are exacerbating the nation's learning crisis. The Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) has urged the government to amend Executive Order No. 66, series of 2012, to establish science-based criteria for suspending classes during typhoons, flooding, earthquakes, volcanic hazards, and extreme heat. "Decisions must always be data-driven, not based on excessive risk aversion," authors Tristan Piosang, EDCOM II Executive Director Karol Mark Yee, and former Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua stated in a policy note released on Tuesday. Executive Order No. 66, enacted in 2012, outlines rules for canceling or suspending classes and government work due to calamities. It also grants mayors the discretion to order suspensions when automatic triggers, such as tropical cyclone wind signals, are absent. However, EDCOM II's analysis indicates that a typical public elementary school lost approximately 20 teaching days to hazard-related suspensions in the 2025-2026 school year, equating to about one in every 10 official school days. Between August 1 and September 15, 2026, 12 out of 28 class days were canceled across the National Capital Region and several provinces, representing 43% of class days during that period. Furthermore, a study covering over 37,000 public elementary schools across two academic years found that class suspensions were associated with a 0.10-standard-deviation decline in reading attainment. This is equivalent to losing roughly 1.4 days of reading progress for every suspended school day. "This means that a suspension does not mean just missing a lesson," EDCOM II explained. "It comes bundled with damaged buildings, interrupted family incomes, teachers coping with their own losses and unsettled children, influences that keep weighing on learning long after doors reopen." The commission highlighted that the issue is less about suspensions themselves and more about their broad application. "What determines which schools close is the jurisdiction line, not purely where the hazard exactly falls," the authors noted, citing instances where national or provincial suspension orders covered areas far from any rainfall warnings, leading to schools shutting down "hundreds of kilometers from the hazard that prompted them." EDCOM II pointed out that 86% of Filipino learners in public schools were not reading at grade level at the start of the 2026-2027 school year, affecting approximately 4.3 million students. The commission recommended expanding automatic suspension rules beyond typhoon signals to include heavy rainfall, earthquakes, volcanic hazards, and extreme heat, while limiting the discretion of local governments. It also called for clearer regulations allowing mayors and governors to suspend classes across entire localities or only in affected areas, based on scientific evidence and coordination with disaster and education agencies. EDCOM II also suggested that school heads be empowered to suspend or resume classes based on conditions at their respective schools, given their access to more specific local hazard information. "Withholding this would exacerbate our already low educational outcomes," the authors warned. The commission further recommended that the government compare weather forecasts with actual conditions to improve decisions on class suspensions.