Interior Sec. Jonvic Remulla Admits Mistake over First Walang Pasok Announcement
WALANG PASOK – Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jonvic Remulla confirmed that he now has the authority to declare class suspensions.
The Philippines is currently in the rainy season and it is expected that several tropical cyclones may hit the country. Previously, Malacañang appealed on the local government units (LGUs) to declare class suspensions ahead of time so the students and parents will not have to be stuck in the midst of heavy rain or flood.
Department of Interior and Local Government Sec. Jonvic Remulla previously sought the permission of the Palace to give him the authority to declare the suspension of classes in times of disaster nor inclement weather conditions. He stressed that a centralized declaration can help avoid the instances of delayed notice to the public.
Pres. Bongbong Marcos did not immediately give Remulla the authority to make Walang Pasok declarations. According to the Palace, the matter needed to be studied first, thus, Malacañang appealed to the LGUs to make class suspension announcements ahead of time while the authority lies on them.
Recently, amid the rainy season in the Philippines wherein Walang Pasok declarations were recently made due to the bad weather, DILG Sec. Jonvic Remulla confirmed that he now has the authority to make announcements about class suspensions due to the bad weather.
Based on a report on Inquirer, Interior Sec. Jonvic Remulla confirmed his authority to declare Walang Pasok announcements to the source through a message. Malacañang communications office Sec. Dave Gomez also told the media in a press briefing that the DILG Secretary has been “authorized to make announcements on behalf of the Cabinet and the Palace”.
It was already DILG Sec. Jonvic Remulla who announced the class suspension in all levels in both public and private schools as well as work in government offices on Monday starting at 1:00 p.m. in the following areas:
- Metro Manila
- Bataan
- Batangas
- Bulacan
- Cavite
- Occidental Mindoro
- Pampanga
- Pangasinan
- Rizal
- Tarlac
- Zambales
Based on the report, several netizens complained that the announcement was quite late and it could have been done prior to avoid the students and employees having to wade through floods. DILG Sec. Jonvic Remulla owned up to the mistake saying he waited for Pres. Bongbong Marcos to land in the United States first.
“Supposedly, I should be the one to have the initiative to suspend work and classes early on. It should have been done yesterday (Sunday). So I’m really owning up to it—that was my fault,” he said.
More updates may be posted soon…