Malacañang Palace announced on Sunday that it will not issue a blanket suspension of work and classes for Monday, 17 November. Instead, the decision will be left to the local government units (LGUs) of the affected areas.
The approach follows the protocol established by the national government through Executive Order 66, Series of 2012, which empowers local chief executives, acting as Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council chairs, to decide on class and work suspensions in their respective areas.
“Upon consultation with the relevant government agencies and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, the cancellation of classes and/or suspension of work in government offices is left to the discretion of the respective local chief executives, taking into consideration the situation in their localities,” the Presidential Communications Office said in a statement.
In recent weeks, Malacañang had previously suspended work and classes in Luzon due to the severe weather conditions caused by several typhoons.
Earlier this month, four typhoons were recorded to have passed through the archipelago within the span of a week.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has attributed the increasing frequency and intensity of these storms to climate change.