School officials make weather forecasts useless

Pagasa is our official weather forecaster. It predicts the coming, the speed, the strength and the direction of a storm or typhoon, as well as the volume of rainwater it will pour upon its landfall. Unfortunately, such forecast, be it grim or otherwise, is disseminated on television only perfunctorily by TV broadcasters and Pagasa authorities.

Pagasa is not authorized to suspend classes while the officials supposedly responsible for making urgent decisions are still literally sleeping at home and on their job. The Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education are nowhere in the scene to make urgent official advisories. So as usual, grade schoolers and high school students are brought to schools as their early schedules demand and when they are already in their classes, it’s only then that the DepEd pops up and suspends classes—too late to prevent the hassle, the expense and the risk in commuting to and from school. Can’t Pagasa please bang on the door of DepEd and CHEd and urge its officials to please make the announcements as early as possible to beat the arrival of strong winds and rains?

The affected residents, especially parents, are angry victims of irresponsible public officials who shirk their responsibilities toward taxpayers. I shudder at the possibility of young lives being lost in freak accidents caused by inclement weather, but indirectly caused by official negligence on the part of DepEd and the CHEd.

—POMPEYO S. PEDROCHE, [email protected]