QC local government updates class suspension guidelines

The local government of Quezon City on Friday issued updated localized guidelines for class suspensions due to inclement weather, extreme heat, earthquakes and poor air quality.

Mayor Joy Belmonte said Memorandum Circular No. 3, Series of 2025, aligns with Department of Education Order No. 022, Series of 2024, and provides clear, data-driven measures to protect students while ensuring learning continuity.

Under the updated guidelines, class suspensions due to tropical cyclones will follow the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal (TCWS) 1 levels

TCWS No. 1 will suspend classes in public Child Development Centers and Kindergarten. TCWS No. 2 will extend the suspension to public Grades 1 to 10. TCWS No. 3 will suspend all public and private schools at all levels

Orange and Red Rainfall Warnings will also suspend classes in public Child Development Centers, Kindergarten, Grades 1 to 12, and the Alternative Learning System (ALS).

The Quezon City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (QCDRRMC) may declare localized suspensions for specific public schools even without PAGASA warnings.

For extreme heat, public school classes in Child Development Centers, Kindergarten, Grades 1 to 12, and ALS will be suspended if the iRISE UP system forecasts a heat index of 42°C or higher.

A forecast between 40°C and 41°C will result in limited face-to-face classes with shortened hours and alternative learning modes. Higher education institutions and private schools will decide their own suspensions. Announcements are typically made at 5:30 p.m. the day before.

Earthquakes with an Intensity VI or higher will suspend all public school classes, including ALS. Intensity V and below will allow the QCDRRMC or individual public schools to declare localized suspensions after facility inspections.

Poor air quality, as measured by 40 city monitoring sensors, will trigger automatic suspensions. Alert Level 3, where 50 percent or more sites register Very Unhealthy, Acutely Unhealthy, or Emergency Levels, will suspend public school classes from Child Development Centers to Grade 12 and ALS.

Meantime, Alert Level 4, where 25 percent or more sites register Emergency Level Air Quality Index (AQI), will also suspend classes at the same levels. A Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB) AQI Emergency Level, with PM 2.5 levels reaching 91 µg/m³, will suspend all public and private schools at all levels.