Senate President Sherwin “Win” Gatchalian urged the Department of Education (DepEd) to implement localized class suspensions during the El Niño threat to protect students without worsening learning loss.
He warned that blanket class cancellations could further disrupt classroom instruction and deepen the country’s education crisis.
A policy note by EDCOM II found that public elementary schools lost an average of 20 teaching days in School Year 2025-2026 due to hazard-related suspensions.
It also reported that every suspended school day resulted in about 1.4 days of lost reading progress.
Gatchalian made the call following DepEd’s announcement of its 4H Framework, which suspends physical and home-based activities when the heat index reaches 42 degrees Celsius or higher.
Source: PhilNews24 | November 2, 2026
GATCHALIAN PUSHES MEASURES TO PREVENT LEARNING DISRUPTIONS DURING EL NIÑO
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