THE Department of Education (DepEd)-Davao said there is no advisory coming from its central office on the suspension of classes in both public and private schools in the region after President Rodrigo Duterte announced on Monday the cancellation of work in government and all classes for the National Day of Protests on Thursday, September 21.
DepEd-Davao spokesperson Jenielito Atillo, in an interview, said the central office, with its recent advisory, only mandated the suspension of classes within the National Capital Region (NCR) area.
Atillo said the reason behind the exclusion of other regions in the advisory may be due to the fact that a great number of protesters inside NCR are expected to converge as compared to other regions in line with the anniversary of the late president Ferdinand Marcos' martial law declaration.
Still, they are waiting for further advisory.
"There are possibilities that they announce it late, even a night before the event," Atillo said.
On Monday, September 18, President Duterte said during a wake for a slain Caloocan policeman to make September 21 as a day of protest without declaring it as an official national holiday.
Duterte invited those who have grievances with the government to stage protests and launch rallies peacefully on that day.