Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Constitution Hills, Quezon City

DATE:

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS the
Second Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. _ 6072

Introduced by: Hon.Salvador B. Belaro Jr.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Government policies, guidelines, regulations, and procedures concerning
the suspension or cancellation of classes and work have been limited to public
storm warnings.

All too often, authorities have not been timely and accurate in their
declaration of class and work suspensions or cancellations.

Widespread confusion, chaos, and disruption of peoples’ lives have
frequently resulted from the lack of a rational system governing suspension or
cancellation of classes and work.

This bill factors in not just storms, but also floods, landslides, earthquakes,
tsunami, storm surge, toxic chemical spills, fire, active shooter situations,
hostage-taking, kidnapping, banditry, terrorism, and state of emergency.

Classes and work may also be suspended or canceled because of
widespread loss of electric power distribution, water supply distribution, or non-
functioning of sewerage systems and widespread collapse or offline status of
several banking or financial systems that disrupt the normal functioning or cause
serious financial incapacity or disruption of households, communities,
institutions, and workplaces.



Implementing rules and regulations will be crafted and promulgated by an

inter-agency and multisectoral committee.
s Lvangh 8. Al, JR.

Representative
{Ang Bdukasyon Party-List



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Constitution Hitls, Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

9
HOUSE BILL NO. 8072

Introduced by: Hon. Salvador B. BelaroJr.

AN ACT
ESTABLISHING A RATIONALIZED SYSTEM OF
TIMELY, EVIDENCE-BASED, AND PEOPLE-CENTRIC
SUSPENSION AND CANCELLATION OF CLASSES
AND OPERATIONS OF WORKPLACES

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the
Philippines in Congress assembled:

Section 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the “Rationalized
Cancellation and Suspension of Work and School Classes Act of 2017".

Section 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is the declared policy of the State that:

1) Zero casualty is a prime indicator of the effectiveness and efficiency of
disaster risk reduction and management;

2) Keeping people out of harm’s way must be done in timely, systemic,
and rational fashion in response to and in anticipation of imminent and

real threats to life, destruction of property, and disruption of daily lives
of families and communities; and



3) All available resources and systems of government, the private sector,
and communities, especially those harnessing the scientific, logistical,
communications, and coordination mechanisms and methods, must be
mobilized to: (a) adapt to, mitigate the effects of, and recover from
natural calamities; and (b) avert and respond to man-made catastrophes
and tragedies whether accidental, deliberate, or incidental, including
armed conflict, criminal activity, and technological threats posing
immediate, clear, and present danger to human life and widespread
disruption affecting the lives of the many.

Section 3. Immediate and Automatic Suspension of Classes and Work.

A. Clas

es at the early childhood, preschool, kindergarten, and elementary

grade levels are immediately and automatic suspended, upon public declaration
or announcement by competent institutional, local government, or national
government authority, of any or a combination of the following situations and
circumstances:

Public Storm Signal Warning No. 1 over particular localities or
geographic areas;

Widespread flooding at gutter level of streets around or leading to
schools;

Intensity IV earthquakes and aftershoe!
geographic area;

Toxic chemical spill within the premises of or in the immediate vicinity
of the school; and

5) Fourth Alarm fire raging within and up to one hundred meters radius
from a school.

affecting a locality or

4)

B. Classes up to and including junior high school, senior high school, at

technical training institutions, and at undergraduate college levels are
immediately and automatically suspended, upon public declaration or
announcement by competent institutional, local government, or national
government authority, of any or a combination of the following situations and
circumstances:



1) Public Storm Signal Warning No. 2 over particular localities or
geographic areas;

2) Widespread flooding at one foot or more above gutter level of streets
around or leading to schools;

3) Heavy rainfall or thunderstorm advisory covering particular localities
and/or geographic areas;

4) Announcement of Second Alarm or Prepare to Evacuate water level of
river or rivers running through or around local government jurisdictions
or geographic areas;

5) Intensity V earthquakes and aftershocks affecting a locality;

6) Tsunami alert specifically for coastal areas;

7) Toxic chemical spill within the premises of or in the immediate vicinity
of the school; and

8) Fifth Alarm fire raging within and up to one hundred meters radius from,
aschool.

C. Classes up to and including the graduate level of higher education
institutions and the operations of offices and other workplaces are immediately
and automatically suspended, upon declaration by competent institutional, local
government, or national government authority, of any or a combination of the
following situations and circumstances:

1) Public Storm Signal Warning No. 3 or higher over particular localities
or geographic areas;

2) Widespread flooding or landslides rendering impassable the streets
around or leading to schools and workplaces;

3) Intense rainfall or thunderstorm advisory;

4) Second Alarm or Prepare to Evacuate water level of river or rivers
running through or around local government jurisdictions or geographic

areas;

5) Toxic chemical spill within the premises of or in the immediate vicinity
of the school or office;

6) Intensity VI earthquakes and aftershocks affecting a locality; and

7) Task Force Alpha fire raging within and up to one hundred meters
radius from a school or workplace.



Section 4. Preventive Suspension of Classes and Work. Competent
institutional, local government, or national government authority shall
preventively suspend classes and operations of offices and other workplaces
given the following situations and circumstances:

1) Second Alarm or Prepare to Evacuate water level of river or rivers
running through or around local government jurisdictions or geographic
areas;

2) Public Storm Signal Warning No. 2 over particular localities or
geographic areas;

3) Heavy or intense rainfall or thunderstorm advisory or tornado warning,
covering particular localities and/or geographic areas;

4) Storm surge warning and tsunami alert for particular coastal localities
or geographic areas:

5) Toxic chemical spill within the limits of or in the immediate vicinity of
the school or workplace or barangay, municipality, or city;

6) Widespread and prolonged incapacitation non-functioning of signaling
and traffic control systems for streets, railways, light rail, ports,
shipping, and aircraft;

7) Active shooter, kidnapping, or hostage-taking within the premises or in
the immediate vicinity of the school or workplac

8) Approach of or invasion by armed bandits, rebels, or terrorist:

9) State of emergency over a municipality, city, province or administrative
region of the country.

and

Section 5. Special Circumstances, Classes and Work may be suspended or
canceled preventively and indefinitely whenever any or a combination of the
following situations and circumstances persist for an extended number of hours

or days

1) Widespread loss of electric power distribution, water supply
distribution, or non-functioning of sewerage systems; and

2) Widespread collapse or offline status of several banking or financial
systems that disrupt the normal functioning or cause serious financial
incapacity or disruption of households, communities, institutions, and
workplaces.


Section 6, Implementing Rules and Regulations, Within ninety (90) days
from the effectivity of this Act, its implementing rules and regulations shall be
approved by an Inter-Agency and Muitisectoral Committee (AMC) composed

of the following:

Chairman:
Members:

Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology

Secretary of Department of Education
Chairman of the Commission on Higher Education

Secretary of the Department of Interior and Local
Government

Secretary of the Department of Finance

Secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry;

Secretary of the Department of Labor;

Executive Director of the National Disaster Risk Reduction
and Management Council

President of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and
Industry

President of the Coordinating Council of Private

lucational

President of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippin
President of the Philippine Press Institute;
President of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster sa Pilipinas.

Members of the Committee may designate their respective Permanent
Representative to the IAMC.

Section 7, Funding. Funding for the [AMC and the implementation of this
Act shall be sourced from the respective budgets of the national government
agencies as provided in the annual General Appropriations Act and from the

internal revenue allotments of local government units.

Section 8. Separability. - If any provision or part of this Act is declared
invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining parts or provisions not affected shall
continue to be in full force and effect.



Section 9. Repealing Clause. - All laws, executive orders, and
administrative orders or parts thereof inconsistent with any provision of this Act
are hereby repealed or amended accordingly.

Section 10. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (1 5) days

after its publication in the online version of the Official Gazette or in two (2)
newspapers of general circulation or with established internet website presence.

Approved.