School DRRM and Class Suspensions: EO 130 and DepEd Rules

Classes in a Philippine school are now suspended in one of three ways under Executive Order No. 130, s. 2026, which President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. signed on October 28, 2026: automatically, when a PAGASA, PHIVOLCS or DENR-EMB warning reaches a set threshold; by the local chief executive (LCE) for specific areas; or by the school itself, “based on documented site-specific conditions”. The order also lets a school reopen while the LCE’s suspension is still in force, if it documents that the campus is safe and the LCE concurs. The thresholds and the documentary requirements will come in implementing guidelines that DepEd must issue with other agencies within 30 days of the order’s effectivity (EO 130, Secs. 1, 4, 5 and 7). Until then, no issuance says which thresholds apply. DepEd has not withdrawn DepEd Order No. 022, s. 2024, and its hazard-by-hazard rules are the safer guide for public schools.

Behind every suspension decision is the school’s disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) system. DepEd Order No. 37, s. 2015 sets the framework, DepEd Order No. 21, s. 2015 sets who reports what and to whom, and DepEd Order No. 033, s. 2021 makes the school head “primarily responsible” for preparing the school for typhoons and floods, with a school DRRM coordinator and a school DRRM team. DepEd Order No. 014, s. 2026 sets what learning looks like while classes are suspended.

The stakes are high. As of September 10, 2026, 34,775 schools, 72.49% of DepEd schools, had had classes suspended in SY 2026-2027, and the national average was four learning days lost by September 11, with 28 in Sarangani, 26 in Pampanga and 25 in Caloocan, according to DepEd figures reported by the Daily Tribune (Apacible, 2026). The Philippine Professional Standards for School Heads (PPSSH), adopted through DepEd Order No. 024, s. 2020, expect a Career Stage 1 school head to “Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of laws, policies, guidelines and issuances on managing school safety for disaster preparedness, mitigation and resiliency in ensuring continuous delivery of instruction” (indicator 2.5.1). The rules below are those issuances, as of November 5, 2026.

Key findings

• EO 130 sets three ways to suspend classes and three ways to resume them. Automatic suspension follows hazard warnings; localized suspension is declared by the LCE; granular suspension is declared by the school “through its duly authorized official” when neither of the first two applies. A school may resume during a localized suspension “with the concurrence of the concerned LCE” (EO 130, s. 2026, Secs. 1, 4 and 5).
• The thresholds are not out yet. DepEd must issue the guidelines, “including the specific technical thresholds, grounds, criteria, documentary requirements, timelines, and coordination procedures”, within 30 days of the order’s effectivity. On November 5, 2026, DepEd said it was finalizing them as a Joint Memorandum Circular with six other agencies (EO 130, Sec. 7; DepEd press release, November 5, 2026).
• Under DO 022, s. 2024, Signal No. 1 suspends Kindergarten, Signal No. 2 suspends face-to-face classes to Grade 10, and Signal No. 3 suspends classes and work at all levels. Heat and power outages never suspend classes automatically; an earthquake of Intensity VI or higher does (DO 022, s. 2024, Sec. III.5).
• The school DRRM coordinator may not be the school head. The school head designates a permanent staff member, preferably non-teaching, and an alternate (DO 033, s. 2021, paras. 13 and 14). DepEd now counts school DRRM work as an administrative task for school heads and non-teaching personnel (DepEd Order No. 002, s. 2024, Sec. V.A.1.f.ii).
• The school head answers for preparedness. Accountability for damage caused by “negligence and/or non-compliance to disaster preparedness measures shall rest upon the School Head”, and DRRM performance reports go into the school head’s permanent records (DO 033, s. 2021, para. 12).
• Reporting runs on four clocks: notify the Schools Division Superintendent (SDS) of a suspension at once, report the school’s learning continuity level within 12 hours, submit the Rapid Assessment of Damages Report (RADaR) within 72 hours, and file the suspension report every quarter (DO 022, s. 2024, Sec. III.5.h; DO 014, s. 2026, para. 44; DO 21, s. 2015, Sec. IV.A.1.q).
• A suspension does not stop learning, and lost days are counted. “The suspension of in-person classes shall not automatically suspend learning” (EO 130, Sec. 3). Make-up classes are required when actual class days fall below 90% of the school calendar’s mandatory contact days; taking SY 2026-2027’s 201 class days as those, the line is 180.9 days (DO 014, s. 2026, para. 68; DepEd Order No. 009, s. 2026, para. 4).

The rules at a glance

What EO 130, s. 2026 changes

EO 130 is titled “Establishing a Framework for the Suspension and Resumption of Classes and Activities, and Onsite Work in Educational Institutions and Learning Centers”. It covers “all public and private educational institutions and learning centers” (Secs. 4 and 5), so it reaches colleges, technical-vocational schools and private schools as well as DepEd’s public schools. It amends Executive Order No. 66, s. 2012 “insofar as the suspension of in-person classes and activities, and onsite work in educational institutions and learning centers is concerned” (Sec. 11). EO 66 still governs work suspension in other government offices.

The three ways classes are suspended

A localized suspension must “clearly specify: (i) the areas covered, which may include the entire locality or specific areas thereof, including specific barangays and, as far as practicable, the educational institutions and learning centers covered; and (ii) the period or duration of the suspension” (Sec. 4.b). A city-wide suspension remains possible; the order asks the LCE to say which areas and for how long. The President keeps the power to suspend or resume classes “whether nationwide or within specified areas” (Sec. 8).

The ways classes resume

• Automatic and localized resumption. Classes “shall automatically resume upon the expiration of the period specified in the suspension order or once the applicable warning, advisory, alert level, forecast, or declaration has been lifted, downgraded, expired, or ceased, and the required safety assessment inspections under this Order have been completed” (Sec. 5.a). Where safety inspections are required, they must be done before classes resume.
• Granular resumption during an LCE’s suspension. “Where a localized suspension declared by the concerned LCE remains in effect”, a school may “seek the earlier resumption” of in-person classes “based on documented site-specific conditions warranting resumption, subject to the concurrence of the concerned LCE” (Sec. 5.b.i).
• Resumption after the school’s own suspension. A school that declared a granular suspension may declare resumption “in coordination with the concerned LCE” (Sec. 5.b.ii).

In both granular cases, resumption “shall be based on a documented site-specific assessment demonstrating that the conditions warranting suspension no longer exist or have been sufficiently mitigated to ensure the safety of learners and personnel, including safe and unimpeded access to and from the institution” (Sec. 5.b). A school on dry ground can reopen early only if learners can reach it safely.

Learning and work during a suspension

“The suspension of in-person classes shall not automatically suspend learning.” Schools “shall, whenever feasible and appropriate, implement learning continuity measures” under the policies of DepEd and the other education agencies (Sec. 3). For staff, “Unless otherwise expressly provided in the suspension order, alternative work arrangements shall be implemented, whenever practicable and in accordance with applicable guidelines, during the suspension of onsite work” (Sec. 3).

Among the other agencies’ duties, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) assesses school facilities after disasters, and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has local governments speed up the building permits and safety clearances schools need (Sec. 6).

What DepEd says the guidelines will contain

DepEd’s November 5, 2026 press release says the Joint Memorandum Circular is being prepared with the DILG, the Commission on Higher Education, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, the Department of Science and Technology, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the DPWH. It describes the coming rules in terms that go beyond the order’s text: LCEs targeting suspensions “down to specific barangays or school zones”, LCEs observing “standard announcement timeframes”, and granular suspensions by “school heads, in coordination with local disaster management offices and Schools Division Offices (SDOs)”. These are DepEd’s description of a draft. They bind no one until the circular is issued. Education Secretary Sonny Angara said: “We owe it to our children to keep them safe, but we must also curb learning loss by ensuring they return to class the moment conditions permit.”

Which rules apply until the guidelines are issued

EO 130 takes effect “immediately upon its publication in the Official Gazette or in any newspaper of general circulation” (Sec. 12). The order was posted in the Official Gazette on November 3, 2026; counted from that date, the guidelines are due by December 3, 2026. As of November 5, 2026, they have not been issued.

The order’s automatic suspension depends on thresholds “prescribed in the guidelines issued pursuant to this Order” (Sec. 4.a), and its granular mechanisms are “subject to the applicable requirements set forth in this Order and in the guidelines issued pursuant thereto” (Sec. 1.c). No issuance says which thresholds apply in the meantime. EO 130 repeals only the issuances “inconsistent with the provisions of this Order” (Sec. 11); it does not name DO 022, s. 2024, and DepEd has not withdrawn it. The safer course until the circular is issued:

1. Treat DO 022’s automatic suspensions, repeated in DO 014, s. 2026, Annex A.2, as in force. Following them keeps learners out of danger. DO 022 ties its typhoon rule to EO 66, which EO 130 has amended for schools; for senior high school at Signal No. 2, see “Senior high school at Signal No. 2” below.
2. Follow the LCE’s declaration where there is no automatic suspension, as both DO 022 and EO 130 provide.
3. Use the school’s own suspension power where neither applies, with the coordination both texts require, and document the site conditions as EO 130 asks.
4. Ask to reopen early during an LCE’s suspension only through the SDS. EO 130 lets a school seek earlier resumption “through its duly authorized official” with the LCE’s concurrence (Sec. 5.b.i), but leaves the requirements to the guidelines, and no DepEd issuance yet says who that official is for a public school. Under DO 022, the SDS is the one who coordinates “with LGUs on localized school suspensions” (Sec. IV). Send the written site assessment, covering safe access, to the SDS, and reopen only on the LCE’s written concurrence and the SDS’s go-ahead.

When classes are suspended automatically under DO 022, s. 2024

DO 022 applies to “all public schools, and DepEd-operated Community Learning Centers under the Alternative Learning System (ALS)”; private schools and the basic education units of state and local universities and colleges “may opt to adopt” it (Sec. II).

Three rules cut across the list:

• If a typhoon signal, an Orange or Red rainfall warning, or an Intensity VI earthquake comes during class hours, “the school shall immediately suspend the classes and work and send everyone home, if it is safe to do so. However, schools are obligated to keep the students and personnel safe in school if traveling has become unsafe” (Sec. III.5.a; similar wording in Secs. III.5.b and III.5.c). A school sends learners home only when the trip is safe; otherwise it keeps them.
• After an earthquake of Intensity VI or higher, the school head asks the DPWH, local building officials, division engineers or other competent professionals to assess the buildings “before allowing students and personnel to return” (Sec. III.5.c). DO 014, s. 2026 extends this to any emergency that risks damage: resumption “shall only occur after these are declared safe by authorized inspectors” (para. 65).
• Parents decide too. “Parents or guardians have the ultimate responsibility for determining whether their children should attend classes in consideration of their physical and/or mental health during disasters and calamities. This applies even if no order for suspension of classes has been issued” (Sec. IV). Parents must also see that their child catches up.

The heat rules for the 2026-2027 El Niño, including what school heads do at each heat index band, are in the El Niño guide.

Senior high school at Signal No. 2

DO 022’s table suspends face-to-face classes at Signal No. 2 only to Grade 10, and DO 014, s. 2026 repeats it: “In-person classes are automatically suspended from Kindergarten to Junior High School” (Annex A.2). But DO 022 also says typhoon suspensions “will follow PAGASA’s Tropical Cyclone Wind Signals (TCWS) and Executive Order No. 66, s. 2012” (Sec. III.5.a), and EO 66 suspended classes “at the pre-school, elementary and secondary levels” at Signal No. 2 (Sec. 1). DepEd itself read “secondary” as “Junior and Senior High School” in DepEd Order No. 014, s. 2021 (Encl., Sec. IV.1.b). EO 130 amends EO 66 for schools but sets no signal rule until its guidelines are issued. No issuance settles whether senior high school classes are suspended at Signal No. 2 in the meantime. Follow the LCE’s or the SDO’s announcement; where none is made, the school head may suspend senior high school classes under DO 022, Sec. III.5.h, with coordination with the LCE and SDS.

Earlier class suspension rules

The rules have moved in steps. EO 66, s. 2012 suspended preschool at Signal No. 1, added elementary and secondary at Signal No. 2, and added tertiary classes and government work at Signal No. 3. DepEd Order No. 43, s. 2012 applied it in DepEd and allowed a school head to suspend classes only “in cases where urgent action is needed to prevent loss of life or bodily harm” (para. 2.b). DO 014, s. 2021 suspended “the application of DO 43, s. 2012” “until further notice” (para. 3). DepEd Order No. 037, s. 2022 cancelled in-person and online classes from Kindergarten to Grade 12 at any wind signal, “1, 2, 3,4 or 5” (Sec. IV.1), and widened the school’s own power: “School Principals can cancel classes at any Intensity Scale” when buildings are in danger of collapsing, and for poor learning conditions during power outages “school officials can cancel or suspend classes at their own discretion” (Secs. IV.4 and IV.5). DO 022, s. 2024 then set the grade-by-signal table above and a list of local conditions under the heading “Localized/Granular Suspensions” (Sec. III.5.h). EO 130 is the first of these issuances to let a school reopen while its locality stays suspended.

When a school head may suspend or resume classes

Suspending classes for the school alone

DO 022 gives the school head this power under the heading “Localized/Granular Suspensions”, and EO 130 now gives it to schools through their “duly authorized official” (Sec. 4.c). “In case there is no automatic suspension of classes and in the absence of a declaration from the LGU, the school heads, or the district or division ALS coordinator, may suspend classes and work in the cases listed below, provided that there is the necessary coordination with the LCE and SDS” (Sec. III.5.h):

1. torrential rain, flooding, and risk of landslides and storm surges;
2. flooding of the school premises, or flooding that affects a large part of the school’s learners and personnel;
3. an earthquake of any intensity, if buildings are in danger of collapsing or have major damage;
4. power outages lasting more than half a school day, “making classrooms uncomfortable or unsafe”;
5. classroom temperature that “is not conducive to learning and affects the health and safety of the learners and teachers”;
6. poor air quality or vog that could harm learners’ health or hinder learning; and
7. other calamities, emergencies and hazards that threaten safety.

Then: “School heads shall immediately notify their respective SDS of the suspension of classes and/or work, including the reason for such suspension. They shall also submit a report (Annex A) to the SDS through the School Governance and Operations Division (SGOD) on a quarterly basis” (Sec. III.5.h). Annex A lists each suspension’s date, type of emergency, specific situation, whether an alternative delivery mode was used, its type and the grade levels.

EO 130 adds what the decision must rest on: “documented site-specific conditions” showing “an actual or imminent threat” (Sec. 4.c). A dated note of what the school head saw (water depth at the gate, the hours without power, the classroom temperature at 8 a.m. and noon, a crack in a wall), with photos, is the kind of record EO 130 asks for and supports the report to the SDS; the guidelines will set the exact documentary requirements (Sec. 7).

Reopening while the municipality stays suspended

EO 130’s granular resumption fits a common case: the mayor suspends classes in the whole town because low-lying barangays are flooded, but a school on high ground has dry roads, power and water. The school may seek to reopen, “through its duly authorized official”, with a documented assessment and the LCE’s concurrence (Sec. 5.b.i). It cannot reopen on its own authority. For a public school, the request goes through the SDS until the guidelines say who that official is (see step 4 under “Which rules apply until the guidelines are issued”).

The school head’s limits

The learning continuity framework of DO 014, s. 2026 “shall not be used to automatically suspend classes, reduce academic expectations, or substitute lighter learning resources when learners are demonstrably safe and cognitively ready to engage in the regular curriculum” (para. 13). A school head suspends classes because of a hazard, not because a level has been reported. The Walang Pasok monitor guide shows how DepEd tracks the suspensions schools report.

The DRRM framework every school works under

DO 37, s. 2015 sets the Comprehensive DRRM in Basic Education Framework. Its four objectives are to “Protect learners and education workers from death, injury, and harm in schools”, “Plan for educational continuity in the face of expected hazards and threats”, “Safeguard education sector investments” and “Strengthen risk reduction and resilience through education” (Sec. V.2). Every DRRM intervention should serve at least one of DepEd’s three outcomes, access, quality and governance. On access, the order says: “Policies and mechanisms should be in place to ensure that classes will be immediately resumed” (Sec. V.3).

The framework works through the four thematic areas of RA 10121, prevention and mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery and rehabilitation, and the three pillars of the Comprehensive School Safety Framework (Sec. V.4 to V.6):

All DRRM interventions go into the school’s plans, including the School Improvement Plan, “with the necessary budget” (Sec. V.7). Schools submit DRRM accomplishment reports to the division every quarter (Sec. VI).

DepEd’s School DRRM Manual, issued as two booklets, turns the framework into four steps that follow the SIP cycle: assess (know your risks), plan (reduce your risks, prepare to respond and ensure education continuity), implement, and monitor, evaluate and report (Booklet 2, Figure 1). The manual is guidance; the orders are the rules. DepEd’s earlier guide is the 2008 Disaster Risk Reduction Resource Manual (Safer Schools Resource Manual), published with UNICEF Philippines, which DO 37 cites for its definitions.

The school DRRM team and the school DRRM coordinator

The team

DO 21, s. 2015 lists among every school’s duties: “Organize school DRRM team to support the implementation of preparedness and response measures” (Sec. IV.A.1.i). DO 033, s. 2021 leaves the design to the school head: “School Heads shall exercise prerogative and flexibility in constituting their respective SDRRM Teams”, and schools “are encouraged to engage learners, their families, and community stakeholders in their SDRRM Team to the extent deemed safe, feasible, and necessary” (para. 15). DO 022, s. 2024 tells schools to “activate their DRRM Teams to prepare, monitor, and respond” when classes are suspended (Sec. III.9).

The School DRRM Manual suggests how to build the team. “Schools are encouraged to tap existing groups such as the School Governing Council (SGC) or the school planning team instead of convening an entirely new group.” The team “will be led by the school head”, is made up of teaching and non-teaching personnel, and may include parents and community members; “For big schools, several teams may be organized to ensure the safety and protection of all learners” (Booklet 2, p. 12). It splits the team’s work in two:

The manual also gives each class adviser a “buddy”, preferably the adviser of a nearby classroom, who takes charge of the class if the adviser is away, and has advisers keep a directory of parents and guardians and see to the safe release of learners to them (Booklet 2, pp. 12-13).

The coordinator

DO 21, s. 2015 had allowed “The school head may serve as the school DRRM Coordinator” (Sec. IV.B.1). DO 033, s. 2021 changed this “As an update to Department Order No. 21, s. 2015”: “the SDRRM Coordinator shall be different from the School Head to allow for dedicated personnel to handle DRRM. Each School Head shall designate, from the pool of permanent school personnel, one (1) teaching or non-teaching staff to serve as the SDRRM Coordinator. Whenever feasible, the SDRRM Coordinator should be a non-teaching personnel” (para. 13). The school head also designates an alternate for when the coordinator is temporarily incapacitated (para. 14).

DO 033 gives priority to staff who meet these criteria (para. 13):

• has completed training on DRRM, climate change adaptation and mitigation, education in emergencies and basic life support;
• is computer and internet literate;
• lives where the school is “readily accessible” during disasters;
• is physically fit;
• can build links with community stakeholders and local authorities; and
• can serve as coordinator “for at least three (3) consecutive school years”.

DepEd Order No. 002, s. 2024 went further. It lists “School DRRM” under program management among the administrative tasks removed from teachers’ workload, and says “School Heads and non-teaching personnel shall have the sole responsibility to perform the administrative tasks enumerated hereunder” (Sec. V.A.1). Read together, the two orders point to a non-teaching staff member as coordinator: DO 033 bars the school head, and DO 002 keeps the work off teachers. In a school with no non-teaching staff, the two orders pull apart, and no issuance settles which gives way. DO 002 has the SDS work with the LGU so that “schools without non-teaching items shall be provided with locally-hired personnel” (Sec. V.C.3.b) and lets SDOs cluster non-teaching personnel or hire contract staff (Sec. V.A.2). A school head in that position should put the interim arrangement in writing and raise it with the SDO.

DepEd Order No. 005, s. 2024 then listed the only teaching-related assignments that “may be designated to teachers” on top of their ancillary tasks: school coordinator for reading, literacy and numeracy, research, special needs education, ICT, guidance and advocacy, and inclusive education; trainer or adviser; and grade-level or learning-area chair (Sec. V.A.4.1). School DRRM coordinator is not among them.

What the coordinator does

Source: DO 21, s. 2015, Sec. IV.B.1, items a to m. DO 014, s. 2026 adds a quick incident management report after every emergency (para. 73).

Personnel on the team who work during calamities may get vacation service credits (teachers) or compensatory time off (non-teaching personnel) in lieu of overtime pay, under DepEd Order No. 53, s. 2003 and DepEd Order No. 30, s. 2016 (DO 033, s. 2021, para. 16). DO 022, s. 2024 adds that teachers and school-based personnel who render service in the school during work suspensions are entitled to overtime pay or vacation service credits under existing guidelines (Sec. III.9). The guide to vacation service credits and overtime pay explains how these are computed.

Typhoons and floods: what DO 033, s. 2021 requires

DO 033, s. 2021 applies to public schools and Community Learning Centers; private schools “are encouraged to refer to these guidelines” (paras. 6 and 8). It repealed DepEd Order No. 83, s. 2011 and amended the inconsistent portions of Sec. IV.B.1 of DO 21, s. 2015 (para. 35).

In normal times

The school head, with the coordinator and the team, carries out these minimum measures (para. 20):

Every DepEd school must also put up a flood water and school ground elevation marker near the gate, showing the critical flood levels set by the local DRRM council and the highest flood recorded. The school head, the coordinator and the physical facilities coordinator agree on its Yellow, Orange and Red levels with the local DRRM council. The division validates which schools need one, and the Basic Education Facilities Fund pays for it (Encl. No. 4).

When a warning is raised

Immediate preparedness starts when a Pre-Disaster Risk Assessment calls for it, a Yellow Warning Rainfall Advisory is raised, or a General Flood Advisory is issued (para. 21). The school then:

1. activates its warning system to pass advisories to learners and personnel;
2. coordinates with the LGU “on the cancellation or suspension of classes and work”;
3. secures weak parts of buildings (school signs, elevated water tanks, flagpoles), and may anchor single-level buildings with guy wires;
4. prunes trees and clears drainage;
5. switches off electrical lines; and
6. moves learning resources and vital records, in waterproof containers, to the pre-identified storage area.

After the hazard strikes

DO 033 says its timetable “shall serve as a guide and may be adjusted based on prevailing contexts and conditions” (para. 25).

“Performance of duties shall be balanced at all times with ensuring one’s own personal safety and security” (para. 24). The incident reports guide shows what the RADaR holds and how a school’s damage report turns into repair funds.

Learning while classes are suspended

DO 014, s. 2026 sets four learning continuity levels that a school moves through during and after a disruption: Hayo (Continue), Hinay (Ease-in), Hinga (Check-in) and Hinto (Stop). It applies once “the school head, Local Chief Executive (LCE), or other relevant government agencies declare suspension” (para. 12). The El Niño guide explains each level and its learning experiences in detail. School heads and teachers who act on the policy are protected: “Actions taken in good faith and in compliance with this policy shall not subject school heads or teachers to personal liability” (para. 12). The rules a school head applies in any suspension:

• Report the level through the EiE: Learning Continuity dashboard “within the first 12 hours of any disruption” (para. 44); the dashboard takes updates at 24-hour intervals until the school is back at Hayo (para. 51). At Hinay, Hinga or Hinto, also report the learning experiences and materials used (para. 46). If power or networks fail, report by SMS or radio as the LSCP provides (para. 44). If the school cannot report, the SDO reports for it (para. 53).
• Send materials home. If the school shifts to Hinay, Hinga or Hinto during class hours without having distributed materials, “a week’s worth of printed materials and emergency learning kits shall be provided before learners are sent home” (para. 47).
• Watch the clock. Hinay lasts at most 3 consecutive class days, Hinga 4 and Hinto 5. When an emergency at Hinga or Hinto is prolonged, “schools are advised to shift their operations to a flexible learning program” (Section V.J table; para. 64).
• Suspend ALS with JHS. “In-person ALS classes shall be suspended if formal junior high school classes in the division are suspended” (para. 48).
• Reschedule exams; stop work immersion. Periodical exams are given only on Hayo days and are rescheduled when a suspension hits them (para. 70). Work immersion is not allowed on Hinay, Hinga or Hinto days (para. 71).

The Learning and Service Continuity Plan

DO 022, s. 2024 requires every school to have an LSCP that identifies the alternative delivery modes for each hazard, the learning resources and where they are kept, the safekeeping of devices, how personnel are mobilized, make-up classes, funding through the SIP, return plans, and “Communication and contingency plans for safe shelter, and coordination among LGUs, schools, and parents” (Sec. III.7). The draft goes to the SGOD and the Curriculum Implementation Division chiefs and then to the SDS for approval (Sec. V).

DO 014, s. 2026 changed the plan’s cycle. DO 022 had the LSCP “crafted every three years alongside the School Improvement Plan” and reviewed every year (Sec. III.7). DO 014 says it “is to be developed annually before the beginning of each school year, and shall be updated every term within the school year” (para. 25). DO 014 is the later order and repeals inconsistent provisions (para. 105), so the yearly plan with term updates is the current rule. Every LSCP now also carries an emergency call tree (para. 33), the learning experiences chosen for each level from the school’s capability mapping (para. 28), and is explained to parents during the Opening Block (para. 39).

DepEd’s Edukahon school recovery kits, for schools, teachers and learners, with risk-specific kits for floods and for earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, are prepositioned by regional and division offices under DepEd Memorandum No. 086, s. 2025 (paras. 3 to 5).

Make-up classes, attendance and pay

When make-up classes are required. “Makeup classes shall be required if the number of actual class days, considering class suspensions and holidays, falls below 90% of the mandatory contact days outlined in the school calendar” (DO 014, s. 2026, para. 68). DO 022 had used a 180-day test (Sec. III.8); DO 014 is the later rule. DO 009, s. 2026 sets 201 class days for SY 2026-2027 (para. 4). Taking those as the calendar’s mandatory contact days, 90% is 180.9 days, so a school whose actual class days fall below 180.9 (20.5 or more days missed, counting each Hinay or Hinga day as half a day) must hold make-up classes.

How days are counted. A Hinay or Hinga day counts as half a class day missed, and a Hinto day as a full class day missed (DO 014, s. 2026, Section V.K table).

Who schedules them. “Scheduling of makeup classes shall be left to the discretion of the school heads” (DO 014, s. 2026, para. 68). When online or modular learning is not feasible, school heads, consulting teachers and parents, may hold make-up classes for all levels except Kindergarten, “during extended hours or on Saturdays” (DO 022, s. 2024, Sec. III.8).

Attendance. Learners who miss learning activities because of a suspension “shall be given due consideration in attendance, assessment, and completion of learning tasks” (DO 014, s. 2026, para. 67).

Teachers’ pay and duty. Hinga check-ins count as teaching load, and teachers who hold make-up classes are paid under DO 005, s. 2024 and DepEd Order No. 026, s. 2025 (DO 014, s. 2026, para. 69). When classes are suspended, teaching and non-teaching personnel “shall not be required to report on-site, except those who are mandated to render security, safety, finance, engineering, sanitation, health, and disaster response duties”; DRRM coordinators and engineers report after a disaster for response, early recovery and reopening (DO 022, s. 2024, Sec. III.9).

Schools as evacuation centers

RA 10821, the Children’s Emergency Relief and Protection Act, has local governments “establish and identify safe locations as evacuation centers for children and families” (Sec. 4). A school may serve as one “Only in cases where there is no other available place or structure which can be used as a general evacuation center”, “Classrooms shall only be used as a last resort”, and “The use of the school premises shall be as brief as possible” (Sec. 5). DO 033, s. 2021 turns these into steps for the school head (paras. 22 and 23):

• The LGU coordinates with the school head and the SDS first, and a memorandum of agreement is signed between the LGU and the school.
• Gymnasiums, activity centers, auditoriums and other open spaces are used before classrooms.
• Use lasts “up to three (3) days for short-term displacement, fifteen days for medium and long-term displacement, or until such time that the respective LGUs are able to establish alternative transitional sites”. If it will exceed 15 days, the LGU must document alternative sites and a relocation timeline to DepEd and the DILG.
• LGUs “are responsible for facilitating general cleaning, fumigation, payment of utilities, and repair of schools used as evacuation centers”; the school head reports damage to the LGU at once.
• “School personnel shall focus on providing education services, particularly education continuity for children in affected communities; they shall not be assigned as camp managers.”

DO 022, s. 2024 adds that an evacuation “should not last for more than 15 days”, that “LGUs cannot use schools as long-term shelters for evacuees”, and that schools “shall not be used as quarantine and/or isolation facilities or vaccination centers”, although mobile vaccination of not more than two days that does not disrupt classes may be allowed (Sec. III.10).

Reports and deadlines

Disruption reports go through DepEd’s official mechanism only: “Offices shall not require parallel templates or additional submissions covering the same reporting requirement outside the official mechanism identified in this issuance” (DO 014, s. 2026, para. 52). DepEd Memorandum No. 072, s. 2025 also asks schools to report to the SDO the alternative delivery modes used and the challenges met (para. 2.d).

Who runs the emergency operations center depends on the reach of the event: the SDO when two or more schools are affected, the regional office when two or more divisions are, and the central office when two or more regions are (DO 21, s. 2015, Sec. V.A).

What this means for school heads

Prepare in normal times:

1. Designate the school DRRM coordinator and an alternate in writing, from permanent non-teaching staff where the school has any, using DO 033’s criteria. Do not take the role yourself.
2. Constitute the school DRRM team from existing groups where possible, with marshals, a buddy for each adviser, and learners, parents and community members where it is safe.
3. Update the LSCP before the school year and every term, with its call tree, the learning experiences for each level, and a reporting route for when power and signal fail. Orient parents on it in the Opening Block.
4. Hold the quarterly multi-hazard drills, the annual student-led hazard mapping before the SIP, and the measures in DO 033’s checklist: records upstairs in waterproof containers, clear routes, clean drains, a working warning system, posted hotlines.
5. Agree with the LGU in advance on how suspensions will be announced, and sign a memorandum of agreement before the school is used as an evacuation center.
6. Put DRRM in the SIP and its budget, as DO 37 requires; the MOOE guide covers what operating funds may pay for.

When a hazard comes:

7. Check which rule applies: an automatic suspension under DO 022 (and, once issued, the EO 130 guidelines), the LCE’s declaration, or neither. Only in the last case does the school head decide, with coordination with the LCE and the SDS.
8. Document the site conditions before suspending or asking to resume: what, where, when, with photos.
9. Keep learners safe at school if the trip home is unsafe, and release them to parents or guardians under the school’s reunification plan.
10. File the reports in the table under “Reports and deadlines”, starting with the notice to the SDS.

After:

11. Do not reopen damaged buildings until authorized inspectors declare them safe.
12. Count class days lost and schedule make-up classes if the school falls below 90% of its contact days.
13. File the incident management report and the quarterly Annex A report, and use them to revise the LSCP.

A school head may not:

• reopen during an automatic suspension, or during an LCE’s suspension without the LCE’s concurrence and the SDS’s go-ahead;
• assign teachers or other school personnel as camp managers of an evacuation center; or
• use the learning continuity levels to suspend classes or lighten work when learners are safe and ready to learn.

These duties serve PPSSH strand 2.5, school safety for disaster preparedness, mitigation and resiliency. At Career Stage 2, a school head is expected to “Manage school safety for disaster preparedness, mitigation and resiliency to ensure continuous delivery of instruction” (indicator 2.5.2). The guide to PPSSH Domain 2 places the strand among the other school operations a school head manages, and the guide to principals, head teachers and teachers-in-charge covers who carries these duties in a school without a principal.

How the NASH may test this

The items below are original practice items, scored 3 (Relational), 2 (Multistructural), 1 (Unistructural) or 0 (Prestructural). An option that breaks a rule scores 0.

Question 1

Indicator 2.5.2, School safety for disaster preparedness, mitigation and resiliency. Career Stage 2, Situational, Moderate.

You are the principal of a public elementary school. At 10 a.m., while classes are in session, PAGASA raises an Orange rainfall warning over your town. The road to two of the school’s sitios is already flooded, and parents are messaging teachers to ask whether they should come for their children. What is the most appropriate action?

• A. Suspend classes at once, and tell the teachers to keep all of their learners in the classrooms until the rain has stopped and the roads to every sitio are clear.
• B. Continue classes until the mayor announces a suspension, since only the local chief executive may suspend classes when a warning covers the town.
• C. Suspend classes at once, keep learners from the flooded sitios in school while releasing the others to their parents, and notify the division superintendent.
• D. Suspend classes at once, keep the learners from the flooded sitios in school, and send the other learners home before the rain gets any heavier.

Answer and explanation

Best answer: C. Points: A = 1, B = 0, C = 3, D = 2.

• A (1 point, Unistructural). Suspending classes at once is right, but it holds every learner even where the trip home is safe, and it leaves out the notice to the SDS.
• B (0 points, Prestructural). An Orange warning after classes have begun obliges the school head to suspend classes at once; waiting for the mayor breaks the rule and keeps learners at risk.
• C (3 points, Relational). It suspends classes, sends home only those whose trip is safe, keeps the learners from the flooded sitios in school, and notifies the SDS, which ties the suspension to the safety of each learner.
• D (2 points, Multistructural). It suspends classes and keeps the learners whose trip is unsafe, but it sends the others home without releasing them to their parents, and it leaves out the notice to the SDS.

Why. This aligns with Career Stage 2 expectations because indicator 2.5.2 asks the school head to manage school safety so that instruction continues. Under DO 022, s. 2024, when an Orange or Red rainfall warning comes after classes have begun, “The school head shall immediately suspend classes and work from Kindergarten to Grade 12 and ALS and send everyone home if it is safe to do so. However, schools are obligated to keep the learners and personnel safely in school if traveling has become unsafe” (Sec. III.5.b). “School heads shall immediately notify their respective SDS of the suspension of classes and/or work” (Sec. IV), and the school’s contingency plan “must include a Student-Family Reunification Plan” (DO 033, s. 2021, para. 20). The 2-point option separates the learners correctly but skips the release to parents and the notice to the SDS.

Indicator 2.5.2: Manage school safety for disaster preparedness, mitigation and resiliency to ensure continuous delivery of instruction.

Sources: DepEd Order No. 022, s. 2024, Secs. III.5.b and IV; DepEd Order No. 033, s. 2021, para. 20.

Question 2

Indicator 2.5.1, School safety for disaster preparedness, mitigation and resiliency. Career Stage 1, Conceptual, Moderate.

Under current DepEd rules, which statement best describes who should serve as a public school’s disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) coordinator?

• A. A permanent staff member, non-teaching where the school has such staff, designated by the school head with an alternate and chosen for DRRM training and access.
• B. The staff member who lives nearest the school, so that someone can open and secure the campus quickly whenever a disaster strikes the community.
• C. The school head, because the school head answers for the school’s disaster preparedness and is the one who reports suspensions to the division.
• D. A permanent staff member whom the school head designates, preferably from the non-teaching staff, with an alternate who is named for when the coordinator cannot serve.

Answer and explanation

Best answer: A. Points: A = 3, B = 1, C = 0, D = 2.

• A (3 points, Relational). It joins the bar on the school head, the move of DRRM work to non-teaching personnel where the school has them, the alternate and the selection criteria into one designation.
• B (1 point, Unistructural). Living where the school is readily accessible is one of the criteria, but it is only one, and the option says nothing about who may and may not be designated.
• C (0 points, Prestructural). The coordinator “shall be different from the School Head”; the school head may not hold the role.
• D (2 points, Multistructural). It states DO 033’s designation rule and the alternate correctly, but it leaves room for a teacher although DO 002, s. 2024 made school DRRM work an administrative task, and it leaves out the criteria.

Why. This aligns with Career Stage 1 expectations because indicator 2.5.1 asks for knowledge of the issuances on school safety and disaster preparedness. DO 033, s. 2021 provides that “the SDRRM Coordinator shall be different from the School Head”, that the school head designates one from “the pool of permanent school personnel”, preferably non-teaching, using criteria such as DRRM training and a residence from which the school “is readily accessible”, and that an alternate is designated (paras. 13 and 14). DO 002, s. 2024 makes school DRRM an administrative task that “School Heads and non-teaching personnel shall have the sole responsibility to perform” (Sec. V.A.1). The 2-point option follows DO 033 alone.

Indicator 2.5.1: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of laws, policies, guidelines and issuances on managing school safety for disaster preparedness, mitigation and resiliency in ensuring continuous delivery of instruction.

Sources: DepEd Order No. 033, s. 2021, paras. 13 and 14; DepEd Order No. 002, s. 2024, Sec. V.A.1.

Nothing in this guide reproduces or predicts examination content.

Frequently asked questions

Can a school head suspend classes without the mayor?

Yes, when there is no automatic suspension and no declaration from the LCE, and only with the necessary coordination with the LCE and the SDS (DO 022, s. 2024, Sec. III.5.h). EO 130 calls this granular suspension and requires “documented site-specific conditions” showing an actual or imminent threat (Sec. 4.c). The school head must notify the SDS at once with the reason.

Can a school hold classes while the LGU has suspended them?

Only through granular resumption under EO 130, s. 2026: the school documents that the conditions no longer exist or have been mitigated, including safe access, and the LCE concurs (Sec. 5.b). It applies only to a localized suspension by the LCE, not to an automatic suspension under a hazard warning (Secs. 1 and 5). For a public school, send the request through the SDS, who coordinates with LGUs on localized suspensions (DO 022, s. 2024, Sec. IV).

Are classes automatically suspended at Signal No. 1 and Signal No. 2?

Under DO 022, s. 2024, Signal No. 1 suspends Kindergarten classes, and Signal No. 2 suspends face-to-face classes from Kindergarten to Grade 10, which shift to modular learning, tasks, projects or make-up classes; Signal No. 3 suspends classes and work at all levels (Sec. III.5.a). Whether senior high school is suspended at Signal No. 2 is unsettled, because EO 66 covered “secondary” classes. EO 130 leaves the thresholds for automatic suspension to its implementing guidelines (Secs. 4.a and 7), which may change these rules; as of November 5, 2026, they have not been issued.

Can a teacher be the school DRRM coordinator?

DO 033, s. 2021 allowed a teaching or non-teaching staff member but preferred non-teaching staff “to ensure that teachers are spared from doing non-teaching related work” (para. 13). DO 002, s. 2024 then made school DRRM an administrative task that school heads and non-teaching personnel have “the sole responsibility to perform” (Sec. V.A.1), and DO 005, s. 2024 left school DRRM coordinator off the list of assignments that “may be designated to teachers” (Sec. V.A.4.1). Where the school has non-teaching staff, the coordinator should be one of them; the school head may not hold the role (DO 033, para. 13).

Do teachers report to school when classes are suspended?

No, unless they have security, safety, finance, engineering, sanitation, health or disaster response duties (DO 022, s. 2024, Sec. III.9). Teachers may still carry out alternative delivery modes and Hinga check-ins, which count as teaching load (DO 014, s. 2026, para. 69).

Sources

Executive orders and laws

• Executive Order No. 130, s. 2026, Establishing a Framework for the Suspension and Resumption of Classes and Activities, and Onsite Work in Educational Institutions and Learning Centers (signed October 28, 2026; posted in the Official Gazette November 3, 2026): Secs. 1 to 8, 11 and 12.
• Executive Order No. 66, s. 2012, Prescribing Rules on the Cancellation or Suspension of Classes and Work in Government Offices Due to Typhoons, Flooding, Other Weather Disturbances, and Calamities (January 9, 2012): Secs. 1 and 2.
• Republic Act No. 10121, Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010.
• Republic Act No. 10821, Children’s Emergency Relief and Protection Act (May 18, 2016): Secs. 4 and 5.

DepEd orders

• DepEd Order No. 022, s. 2024, Revised Guidelines on Class and Work Suspension in Schools During Disasters and Emergencies (December 23, 2024): Secs. II, III.5 to III.10, IV and V; Annex A.
• DepEd Order No. 014, s. 2026, Guidelines on Learning Continuity in Emergencies (June 4, 2026): paras. 12, 13, 25, 28, 33, 39, 44, 47, 48, 51 to 53, 64, 65, 67 to 71, 73, 76 and 105; Sections V.J and V.K tables; Annex A.2.
• DepEd Order No. 033, s. 2021, School-Based Disaster Preparedness and Response Measures for Tropical Cyclones, Flooding, and Other Weather-Related Disturbances and Calamities (August 20, 2021): paras. 6, 8, 12 to 16, 20 to 27 and 35; Encl. No. 4.
• DepEd Order No. 37, s. 2015, The Comprehensive Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) in Basic Education Framework (August 12, 2015): Secs. V and VI.
• DepEd Order No. 21, s. 2015, Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Coordination and Information Management Protocol (June 1, 2015): Secs. IV.A.1, IV.B.1, V.A and V.B.
• DepEd Order No. 23, s. 2015, Student-Led School Watching and Hazard Mapping (June 16, 2015).
• DepEd Order No. 002, s. 2024, Immediate Removal of Administrative Tasks of Public School Teachers (January 26, 2024): Secs. V.A.1, V.A.2 and V.C.3.b.
• DepEd Order No. 009, s. 2026, Guidelines on the Implementation of the Three-Term School Calendar in Basic Education (April 16, 2026): para. 4.
• DepEd Order No. 005, s. 2024, Rationalization of Teachers’ Workload in Public Schools and Payment of Teaching Overload (April 29, 2024): Sec. V.A.4; also as cited in DO 014, s. 2026, para. 69.
• DepEd Order No. 026, s. 2025, Guidelines on the Payment of Overtime Services of Teachers (September 6, 2025), as cited in DO 014, s. 2026, para. 69.
• DepEd Order No. 53, s. 2003, Updated Guidelines on Grant of Vacation Service Credits to Teachers (June 24, 2003), and DepEd Order No. 30, s. 2016, Policies and Guidelines on Overtime Services and Payment in the Department of Education (May 19, 2016), as cited in DO 033, s. 2021, para. 16.
• DepEd Order No. 024, s. 2020, National Adoption and Implementation of the Philippine Professional Standards for School Heads: strand 2.5, indicators 2.5.1 and 2.5.2.
• Earlier suspension orders: DepEd Order No. 43, s. 2012 (May 28, 2012), DepEd Order No. 014, s. 2021 (April 22, 2021): para. 3 and Encl., Sec. IV.1.b, and DepEd Order No. 037, s. 2022 (September 1, 2022).

DepEd memoranda

• DepEd Memorandum No. 064, s. 2026, Anticipatory Action, Preparedness, and Protective Measures for the 2026–2027 Super El Niño (October 26, 2026).
• DepEd Memorandum No. 072, s. 2025, Safety, Learning Continuity, and Safekeeping of School Properties During Disasters and Emergencies (August 25, 2025): para. 2.
• DepEd Memorandum No. 086, s. 2025, Adoption and Deployment of Edukahon: Department of Education’s Standardized School Recovery Kit for Learning Continuity in Times of Emergencies and Disasters (September 27, 2025): paras. 3 to 5.

DepEd manuals and statements

• Department of Education. School Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Manual, Booklet 1 (the framework and its pillars) and Booklet 2 (implementation steps and tools; pp. 12-13 on the School DRRM Team).
• Department of Education. (2008). Disaster Risk Reduction Resource Manual (Safer Schools Resource Manual). DepEd, with UNICEF Philippines and Plan International Philippines.
• Department of Education. (2026, November 5). DepEd, partner agencies push data-driven approach on class suspensions, resumptions under new EO [Press release].

News reports

• Apacible, L. M. (2026, September 17). DepEd to LGUs: Suspend classes only in hazard-hit areas. Daily Tribune. https://tribune.net.ph/2026/09/17/deped-to-lgus-suspend-classes-only-in-hazard-hit-areas

Written by Mark Anthony Llego for NASH Reviewer. Sources: Executive Order No. 130, s. 2026; DepEd Orders No. 022, s. 2024, No. 014, s. 2026, No. 033, s. 2021, No. 37 and No. 21, s. 2015, No. 002 and No. 005, s. 2024 and No. 009, s. 2026; DepEd Memoranda No. 064, s. 2026 and No. 072 and No. 086, s. 2025; RA 10121 and RA 10821; DepEd’s School DRRM Manual; a Daily Tribune news report.