Zambales 1st District Rep. Jefferson Khonghun (left) and La Union 1st District Rep. Francisco Paolo Ortega
THE so-called Young Guns in the House of Representatives today have expressed full support for the actions taken by the administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in reverting to the old school calendar, first by setting the next academic year to July 29, 2024 to April 15, 2025.
Zambales 1st District Rep. Jefferson Khonghun and La Union 1st District Rep. Francisco Paolo Ortega all praised the President’s approval of the gradual shift to the pre-pandemic school calendar.
“By the school year 2025 to 2026, makakabalik na po tayo sa dating kalendaryo. We laud this action by the President. Madami naman talaga ang nagtutulak na maibalik na ang dating schedule ng mga estudyante sa mga paaralan,” said Khonghun, chairman of the House Committee on Bases Conversion.
Khonghun said this summer has proven that the intense heat index will only get much, much worse during the summer months.
“Nakita naman po natin, ilang beses nagsuspinde ang mga pampublikong at pribadong paaralan ng face-to-face classes nila dahil na rin sa sobrang init. Kawawa po ang ating mga estudyante at kawawa din po ang ating mga teachers at school personnel if we will subject them again to school during the summer,” Khonghun noted.
On April 4, a total of 4,000 schools suspended face-to-face classes and switched to asynchronous and distance learning modes due to the extreme heat. A week after, a total of 7,000 schools suspended face-to-face classes.
Ortega, a House Assistant Majority Leader, said that in both instances, over a million students were affected. Since then, there have been many instances that in-person classes were suspended nationwide due to the extreme heat.
“For me hindi na rin conducive sa learning ang pagkakaroon ng klase sa ganitong klaseng init. So we really support the President’s move to act now and revert to the old calendar,” Ortega said.
