Students and parents alike were dismayed Monday by the late announcement of some local governments in Metro Manila of their suspension of classes due to monsoon rains, as some of them had braved strong downpours and flooded streets to get to their schools before their classes were called off.
The pupils, their parents and guardians took to social media to express their gripes against mayors and school officials for their late announcements, which were made only when the state weather bureau raised orange rainfall warnings in their areas.
A total of 15 local government units in the National Capital region suspended classes in all levels on Monday due to continuous rains and flooded areas.
Only the city of Makati did not declare class suspensions yesterday, while localized suspensions were put in place in Quezon City, where some areas are still inundated.
According to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, the cancellation of classes in both private and public schools was announced in Caloocan City, Malabon City, Marikina City, Parañaque City, Pasay City, San Juan City, Manila, Muntinlupa City, Valenzuela City, Las Piñas City, Mandaluyong City, Navotas City, and Municipality of Pateros.
Taguig City canceled afternoon classes in public and private schools due to expected rainfall and monsoon-like conditions, potentially causing flooding in low-lying areas.
The Taguig government has asked residents to visit and monitor the Taguig Open Weather and Environmental Reporting (TOWER) System for updates.
The cities of Manila, Pasay, Mandaluyong, and Valenzuela have been severely impacted by flooding, leading to heavy traffic.
Affected areas were Roxas Boulevard and Pedro Gil in Manila (gutter deep), Epifanio de los Santos Avenue extension in front of Heritage Hotel in Pasay City (gutter deep), F. Martinez Avenue corner Barangay Road in Mandaluyong City (gutter deep), and along Mac Arthur Highway in the areas of Santiago Cuevas, Dalandanan, Wilcon Depot, and Green Oil, Malanday (half tire deep) in Valenzuela City.
Meanwhile, at least seven international flights were canceled at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
These included four flights of Philippine Airlines (PAL) going to and from Xiamen and Quanzhou, a Cebu Pacific Air (CEB) flight from Taipei, and two Xiamen Airlines flights going to and from Xiamen.