Decision to allow face-to-face classes still up to Duterte: Roque

Last month, DepEd started its preparation for the limited face-to-face classes in areas with no reported Covid-19 infections. (Pixabay photo)

MANILA – The decision to allow face-to-face classes is still with President Rodrigo Duterte but concerned agencies continuously monitor developments as they prepare for its eventual resumption, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said Tuesday.

“Patuloy naman po ang paghahanda diyan bagama’t ang desisyon po ay talaga magiging desisyon pa rin ni Presidente ‘no (We continuously prepare for it but the decision is really with the President),” he said in a briefing.

He said the Department of Education (DepEd) is looking into the actual condition of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic in the different parts of the country.

Citing the Department of Health, Roque said the government aims to bring all regions under the modified general community quarantine, the most relaxed classification out of the four community quarantines in the Philippines.

Last month, DepEd started its preparation for the limited face-to-face classes in areas with no reported Covid-19 infections.

READ: DepEd prepares for limited face-to-face classes

“At the moment, there are no face-to-face classes but the DepEd is really preparing for it,” DepEd Undersecretary Tonisito Umali said in a television interview.

Public school classes nationwide resumed on October 5 following the DepEd’s Blended Learning Program, with about 22.5 million learners in public schools studying through modules, radio, television, and the internet.