MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Education (DepEd) said on Monday, April 18, that classes in all levels in public schools will be suspended from May 2 to 13 due to “national election-related activities.”

“Ang mga guro ay inaasahan pa ring mag-report sa kanilang paaralan sa mga araw na walang election-related duties o activities,” the DepEd said. (Teachers are expected to still report in schools during days that have no election-related duties or activities.)

Since the pandemic began in March 2020, schools in the country have been holding classes through the distance learning system. Some 13,000 public and private schools have been allowed to hold in-person classes. There are 60,000 schools in the country.

In the 2019 elections, over 500,000 teachers served as poll workers while roughly 36,830 schools were turned into polling centers. The national and local elections will happen on May 9.

Over 60 million voters are expected to participate in the 2022 national elections, the first to be conducted in the middle of a pandemic. – Rappler.com