Several local government units (LGUs) in Negros Oriental suspended classes on Monday due to a magnitude 5.8 aftershock that struck Bogo City, Cebu, and was felt in the province.
Announcements on online platforms came from Sibulan, Tanjay City, Manjuyod, Pamplona, and Bindoy. In Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental High School, St. Paul University, and Dumaguete Agape Chinese Christian Academy (DACCA) also canceled classes. They cited the need to inspect buildings and classrooms for structural integrity following a series of earthquakes affecting the province.
The Department of Education (DepEd) Dumaguete Division did not impose a suspension, according to Assistant Division Superintendent Dr. Juditha Mapue. Residents reported moderate shaking around 1 a.m. from the aftershock in northern Cebu.
On October 10, Governor Manuel Sagarbarria had declared a province-wide class suspension after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake hit Davao Oriental, felt in Dumaguete at Intensity II. That order was limited to that day, so no automatic suspensions applied to public or private schools on Monday.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) described the magnitude 7.4 and 6.8 quakes in Davao Oriental as a “doublet earthquake.” “They are distinct or different earthquakes in almost the same area with two (or more) main shocks that have slight difference in magnitude. This happens when faults or trenches are causing the stress to trigger a sequence of events,” Phivolcs said.
Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) chief Adrian Sedillo expressed hope that academic institutions are prepared to shift quickly to modular or alternative learning methods during events like earthquakes and typhoons, to avoid disrupting students’ education in case of suspensions.