Blanket suspensions seen hurting workers, businesses in Philippines

By Erika Mae P. Sinaking, Reporter

REPEATED and often blanket suspensions of face-to-face classes and government work due to typhoons and heavy rains are causing economic losses beyond missed work and school days, with daily-wage earners, small businesses and students bearing much of the impact, analysts said.

Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis, Jr., president of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECoP), said blanket suspensions should be reconsidered because weather risks vary across locations.

“We can’t keep doing blanket suspensions one after another,” he told  BusinessWorld by telephone. “No formula can fit all, not all provinces, not all cities, not all barangays, not all schools. They have to find a better way to do it.”

The disruptions also hurt private businesses that depend on government transactions, he said.

“The problem is that many private businesses rely on their transactions with the government,” Mr. Ortiz-Luis said.

The Philippines also has more holidays than many of its neighbors in the region, he said.

“We are the only ones who, without hesitation, declare these things, as if nothing is lost,” he said. “So much is lost, so we have to find a better way to address climate change and the holidays. They should be reduced.”

The economic strain of suspensions is compounded by the impact on teachers, who must shift instruction online even when weather conditions also disrupt power and internet access, said Rene Luis M. Tadle, president of the Council of Teachers and Staff of Colleges and Universities of the Philippines.

“There is a certain irony in the way class suspensions can affect schools and teachers very differently,” he said in a text message. He noted that while schools might save on electricity, water and other costs when campuses close, teachers under “no work, no pay” arrangements can lose a day’s income.

The default shift to online classes when face-to-face instruction is suspended should also be reconsidered because the same weather that makes travel unsafe can disrupt power and internet access at home, he said.

“We must not confuse the completion of an activity with actual learning,” Mr. Tadle said. “A class suspension should not become a financial penalty for teachers, nor should safety become merely a change of venue from the classroom to Zoom.”

Alellie B. Sobreviñas, an associate professor of economics at De La Salle University-Manila, said sectors that depend on physical presence, including agriculture, construction, transport, retail, tourism, and food services tend to bear the brunt of disruptions.

Office-based industries such as business process outsourcing and information technology are comparatively insulated because of work-from-home arrangements, she said.

E-commerce and delivery services could see increased demand as households shift to online orders, although deliveries themselves are often hampered by the same weather, she said.

“Those workers who are paid daily may lose income that cannot easily be recovered, while those who can work remotely may experience little income disruption,” Ms. Sobreviñas said in an e-mailed reply to questions. “Poorer households without access to these may face greater losses.”

SIMILAR TO COVID
Former Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua urged the Palace to review the policy on blanket suspensions, citing the disruption to face-to-face learning.

In a letter to Executive Secretary Ralph G. Recto that he shared with BusinessWorld, Mr. Chua said the “total cancellation since Aug. 1 is around 11 days already out of 27 class days, for a 41% cancellation rate.”

“This rate is similar to cancellations during school years 2022 to 2026 and adds to the learning crisis that escalated during the two-year school closure during COVID,” he wrote, warning that “whatever gains we have in [the Programme for International Student Assessment] PISA will go down the drain with one month class suspensions.”

Mr. Chua asked the Palace to review the blanket suspension policy, strictly use Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) data in decision making, exercise oversight over local government suspensions and approve a proposed executive order allowing school-level, granular cancellations.

Council Majority Leader Julienne Alyson Rae V. Medalla also filed a resolution in Quezon City urging PAGASA to release weather advisories between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. and again between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m., when local governments assess whether to suspend classes.

Quezon City Mayor Maria Josefina Tanya “Joy” G. Belmonte-Alimurung said the advisories would supplement the city’s weather-monitoring system and community reports, allowing suspension decisions to be “guided by the latest available information.”

The city said suspension announcements might still cover private schools and higher education institutions because weather conditions can change quickly, although such institutions are encouraged to adopt and clearly communicate their own suspension protocols.

The Philippines typically faces repeated weather disruptions during the second half of the year. PAGASA says an average of 20 tropical cyclones enter or develop within the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) each year, with about eight or nine crossing the country. July to October is the peak of the typhoon season.

Five tropical cyclones entered or developed within the PAR in August, while the southwest monsoon also brought episodes of heavy rainfall that caused flooding and landslides in parts of the country.

Senate President Sherwin “Win” T. Gatchalian on Sept. 12 called for more localized and targeted class suspensions instead of blanket, system-wide declarations, warning that widespread disruptions risk aggravating learning loss.

His office said class suspensions had disrupted face-to-face learning in various parts of the country for at least 20 weekdays during the previous 30 days. Citing a study by the Second Congressional Commission on Education, or EDCOM II, Mr. Gatchalian also said an average of 30 to 50 class days out of the 180-day school calendar had been lost to suspensions over the past two years.

The Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) likewise called for more granular and calibrated suspension decisions.

It said decisions could consider location, level of risk, school conditions, time of day, grade level and the actual accessibility of learners and teachers, noting that schools within the same province or city could face different levels of risk.

Michael R. Jambalos, union president of the San Beda College Alabang Employees Association, said schools should not equate online classes with meaningful learning during severe weather.

“Learning continuity is not simply the continuation of instruction,” he said in a text message. “It is the continuation of meaningful, accessible and equitable learning. We must not confuse ‘there was an online class’ with ‘there was meaningful learning.’”

Ms. Sobreviñas said the effects of repeated suspensions could extend beyond the immediate disruption, with businesses, households and schools differing in their ability to recover.

“One important issue is how quickly households, businesses and schools can recover,” she said. “The ability to adapt is not equally available to everyone.”

Even if economic output eventually recovers, some businesses and households may not fully recover lost income.”

Ms. Sobreviñas said businesses with stronger capacity to adapt are likely to recover faster, while smaller firms may struggle because of limited resources.

“In addition, missed learning due to class suspension despite the alternative mode may have longer-term consequences for children’s human capital and future productivity,” she added.