After drawing mixed reactions online for incorporating his viral social media style into class suspension announcements through the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Secretary Jonvic Remulla revealed that the agency’s Facebook following has surged from 3,000 to 1.2 million.

“We started with 3,000, now the DILG has 1.2 million followers — because of that, because they are looking for — the ‘abangers,’ they are already waiting,” Remulla said. “The ‘abangers,’ that’s not nonsense. Everyone is really waiting for when the announcement will be. They are looking for leadership on how to do that. They are looking for a system.”

Remulla explained that the DILG’s method is an institutional approach to disseminating public information.

Previously, class suspensions were announced by local government units (LGUs), following consultations with disaster response agencies. But this decentralized approach, Remulla noted, often caused confusion.

“The problem here is that sometimes the response is only expected from the local government. Some cities declare [suspensions], others do not. That’s why we have taken a whole-of-nation approach to announcing,” he said.

He also pointed out that in the past, suspension decisions were announced as late as 7:00 a.m. on the day of classes, causing inconvenience for families and students, especially those commuting from afar.

“We decided that the latest time for our announcement was four in the afternoon so that parents wouldn't have to think about it, and the children wouldn't have to think about it either,” Remulla said. “Because the hardest part is for parents who wait until midnight, not knowing what will happen the next day. We decided that the information would be disseminated in the afternoon.”

The DILG chief emphasized that announcements made through social media are faster than any other form of communication. He recalled that during his time as governor of Cavite, his lighthearted Facebook posts initially faced resistance, but eventually gained public support.

“That’s it, my way is through Facebook, through social media. In Cavite, I was like that already. I didn’t think there would be resistance at the beginning, but now they appreciate the substance of why I’m doing that and what I’m saying,” he said.

In July, the DILG was granted authority to issue class and work suspension announcements on behalf of the Cabinet. Previously, these announcements were made by the Office of the Executive Secretary.