Monsoon Suspends Classes in Metro Manila

Weather image thru satellite (source: PAGASA thru Mr. Narciso Cabanila)

Heavy rains brought by the Southwest Monsoon on early Monday morning caused the suspension of pre-school, elementary, and high school classes, public and private, in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

Following the declaration of other cities in Greater Manila Area (GMA), Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim declared the suspension of pre-schools, elementary schools, and high schools in the Capital in the afternoon due to unprecedented heavy rainfall.

While other cities like Quezon and Pasay have already declared suspension of classes at all levels yesterday morning, the City of Manila has not yet declared the same until the late afternoon, even if certain areas have been flooded due to intermittent heavy rainfall.

The University of Santo Tomas, together with other higher educational institutions in Manila, has already suspended classes especially that it is located in a flood-prone area.  Following other universities in GMA, the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) suspended classes in the afternoon.

Torrential rains caused floods in many parts of GMA which in turn caused many students to be stranded on their way home.  Accordingly, some students of the Department of History had to wait until the rain would cease in order for them not to go home wet.

Late Suspension of Classes in PUP

While other higher educational institutions in GMA have suspended classes in the morning, PUP has continued to hold classes until heavy rains poured in the afternoon.

The late suspension of classes has triggered negative opinions among faculty members and students on the eventual decision of the university administration to send its students home when rainwater has started to flood the streets and the low-lying areas of Manila.

Surmising the university administration’s ground on the alleged late suspension, Prof. Pascual said, “perhaps the suspension of classes in the previous days and the occurrence of light rainfall in the morning led the administration to indecisively dismiss classes earlier.”

“The inadvertent suspension of classes in the mornings of the previous days, even without heavy rains in the afternoon has caused the delays of lessons and class activities that is why the university administration can be understood at that,” he added.

The resonance of the university bell which means the dismissal of classes occurred in time with the strong downpour of rain.  As a result, many students could not immediately get out of the campus and go home.

BA History Students Could Not Go Home

On the day before the suspension of classes, PUPSMK President Ryan Tan scheduled a meeting for the ExeCom Officers, permanent committee chairs, and ad hoc committee heads on August 6 at 6 o’clock in the evening to discuss how the different activities for the History Month would be conducted.

An earlier meeting, however, was held by President Tan among BA History 2-1 and 1-1 students in order to organize the program for a seminar in the course Colonial Philippines.

The earlier meeting was not yet done when the university bell rang.  The students should have gone home immediately after that, had it not been for the strong downpour of rain. 

Some of the students decided to wait until the rain would stop.  Unfortunately, rainfall became intense and incessant, preventing them to go home.

In a conversation with President Tan, some of the students who waited could not go home any longer due to the occurrence of flood in their respective routes. 

He added that, for that reason, they were welcomed by the family of Mr. Lawrence Angelo Riego, BA History 1-1 student, whose residence is near PUP.  The students accommodated were Mr. Gerwill Cruz, PUPSMK VP for Finance and who comes from Taytay, Rizal, Mr. Jefferson Mendez, President of KAPARIZ and who comes from Caloocan City, Mr. Raniel Mapili of BA History 2-1 and who comes from Lagro, Quezon City, and Mr. Michael Joe Agtarap, President and Year-level Representative of BA History 1-1.

President Tan thanked the family of Mr. Riego for the kind accommodation that it extended to them.