23/07/2025
๐ข๐ฃ๐๐ก๐๐ข๐ก: ๐ง๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐๐๐ปโ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ป๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐. ๐๐โ๐ ๐จ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐ณ๐ฒ.
This morning of July 23, 2025, at around 5:30 AM, a last-minute announcement was issued by the Vice President for Academic Affairs (VPAA), through Sir Dakila Capistrano, the Director for Student Affairs and Services (SAS). The message stated that classes would proceed, despite the issuance of Memorandum Circular No. 90 from the Office of the President, a circular released yesterday suspending government work and classes due to severe weather conditions.
Then, at 9:10 AMโalmost four hours laterโanother memo from the Office of the Executive Vice President (OVP) was released, finally confirming that classes were, in fact, suspended. But by then, it was too late. Many students had already made the commute to school. Some were even sitting in class when the second advisory arrived.
This delay was more than just poor communication. It was an outright failure in student safety and crisis management.
By the time the initial advisory was posted, most students had already left their boarding houses, fearful of being marked absent or missing academic requirements. Others, unsure of the schoolโs decision, rushed back home to avoid the rain and the dangers of commuting during harsh weather conditions. The indecisiveness forced students to act on fear and guesswork, rather than on guidance from those who are supposed to protect them.
This isnโt just inconvenient. Itโs unsafe.
The fear of being stranded is not imagined. During Typhoon Kristine last year, many students were trapped in their boarding houses with no electricity, food, or drinking water. Flash floods submerged roads and blocked access. Parents struggled to contact their children. The trauma from that experience is still fresh and todayโs delayed response reopened those fears.
The repeated pattern of late advisories exposes a serious lack of planning. Students are not just passive listeners, we are stakeholders whose lives are affected by these decisions. Every delayed announcement is a transfer of risk from the institution to the student. It says, โYou decide whether to risk it or not,โ instead of, โHere is our plan to keep you safe.โ
In times of unpredictable weather, where flooding, power outages, and transportation risks are likely, the school must issue early, clear, and consistent announcements. Delayed decisions do not just cause stress, they expose students to real harm.
Letโs also talk about the mental toll. Being forced to choose between academic obligations and personal safety creates unnecessary stress and anxiety. No student should have to wonder, โWill I get in trouble if I donโt go?โ when the skies are dark, the roads are unsafe, and the government has already issued suspension orders.
Letโs be clear: the core issue here is not the suspension of classesโitโs the timing of the announcement. Emergencies donโt wait. Neither should the people in charge of responding to them.
At the heart of this situation is trust. Trust in the school to protect its students. Trust in the administration to act with urgency. Trust that safety will always come before schedules. That trust is broken every time announcements come hours or days after official government guidance.
Words by Joshua Myk Domingo
Pubmat by Karl Vladimir Alto and Raiden Arellano
