By Isabella Magno

In his third Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, July 19, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. tackled “matters of national interest”, including the education sector. 

In the meeting, Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte presented the initial plans of the Department of Education regarding some issues, such as the availability of classrooms, teachers, and other pertinent concerns, that had been raised by various groups after the full implementation of in-person classes had been ordered.

Consequently, Marcos gave the education sector the task of identifying the specific areas where blended learning will continue even after October 31.   

“Ang gawin na lang natin [ay] i-identify saan ‘yung areas na magbe-blended learning para maka-focus tayo. Ihanda ‘yung mga devices at mga kailangan nila na noong pandemic hindi nasu-supply-an sa mga bata,” Marcos said.

Malacañang told the public that the president is still determined to push through with face-to-face classes; however, he is concerned that the raised issues may affect the implementation of the plan. 

Other Matters

Social welfare issues were also discussed during the meeting. According to Department of Social Welfare and Development Secretary Erwin Tulfo, 1.3 million of the 4.4 million Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries are already categorized as “non-poor,” making them ineligible for 4Ps benefits. 

Moreover, in a separate meeting with the officials of the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health (DOH) on Monday, July 18, Marcos Jr. said the country will continue to use the current COVID-19 alert level system, as the health department is “studying” a new system for classifying health restrictions.  

According to the president, the new categorization should be more suited to the “current milder strains that plague the patients.”

Meanwhile, DOH officer-in-charge Ma. Rosario Vergeire said the new alert level classification might be shared with the public by the second week of August. 

Thumbnail from Newpost PH