NextGen Day

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines – On Tuesday, the Negros Occidental Department of Education Division (DepEd-NegOcc) sided with the principal of Negros Occidental High School (NOHS), who rejected access to 13 staff members who were still unvaccinated against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

The incident occurred on the first day when a 100 percent on-site workforce was already allowed because this city, where the NOHS campus is located, is now under Alert Level 1. Ian Arnold Arnaez, information officer of DepEd-NegOcc, told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Wednesday that the incident occurred during the first day when a 100 percent on-site workforce was already allowed because this city, where the NOHS campus is located, is now under Alert Level 1.

There are nine teachers and four non-teaching professionals among the 13 people.

The DepEd-NegOcc said in a statement that it appreciates NOHS principal Josette Terora’s efforts in adhering to the DepEd Task Force Covid-19 Memorandum 575 of December 7, 2021.

“DepEd-NegOcc fully feels that Ms. Terora’s decision to deny admission to the 13 unvaccinated personnel was exclusively based on DepEd policy, and not on any purposeful attempt to discriminate against them given that vaccination is not obligatory,” the statement continued.

Memorandum 575 is based on the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) Resolution 148-B, which states that “(i)n areas where there are sufficient supplies of Covid-19 vaccines as determined by the National Vaccination Operations Center, all establishments and employers in the public and private sector shall require their employees to be vaccinated beginning December 1, 2021.”

Although eligible employees who remain unvaccinated may not be fired solely for this reason, they will be required to undergo reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests on a regular basis at their own expense for on-site work, or antigen tests may be used if RT-PCR capacity is insufficient or not immediately available.

Terora, as the school administrator, is required by DepEd-NegOcc to comply with all department issuances in order to safeguard the health and safety of all employees as well as students when face-to-face lessons resume.

It also urged its employees to be vaccinated to protect themselves against the virus and to prepare for the future return to in-person classes.

There are also no guidelines on “how to handle the attendance records of personnel who cannot be accommodated in the school premises, despite being required to report on-site, due to failure to present proof of vaccination or a valid negative RT-PCR/antigen test result,” according to the DepEd-NegOcc.

Because the Civil Service Commission (CSC) regulation on alternate work arrangements (AWA) remains in effect, all schools under DepEd-NegOcc will continue to follow the AWA regardless of alert level status until the DepEd, CSC, or IATF-EID attendance rules are enforced, it noted.

The IATF-EID guidelines on the national implementation of the Alert Level System for Covid-19 response announced on February 27 will also be followed, according to the DepEd-NegOcc.

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