The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT)-Philippines called for immediate relevant action from the government following reported extremely hot temperatures in the National Capital Region. Dangerous temperatures of 42-51 degrees Celsius were recorded in various cities in the region.

This prompted some local governments to cancel classes in public schools, as well as some private schools. ACT-Philippines called the move necessary, but also mere band-aid solution.

“Our students and teachers suffer not just from extreme weather but from the government’s chronic neglect of our education infrastructure,” the group’s chairperson Vladimer Quetua said. The teacher-leader emphasized that the hot weather’s effect is exacerbated by the deplorable condition of public schools in the country.

“Besides the heat, the more terrible condition of schools worsen the heat inside classrooms. Children are cramped due to lack of classrooms, and most have no clinic, medicine, or nurse,” Quetua further stated.

The situation has reportedly become so desperate that children are told to forego their uniforms, to bring their own fans and to crowd into clinics or canteens to get drinking water.

In light of this, Quetua called for immediate action during the emergency and long-term solutions. This includes immediate release of funds for Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) for measures that will help cool schools.

The teachers’ group is also pushing to expedite the construction of the promised 15,000 climate-resilient classrooms and a significant additional budget in 2026 for infrastructure to address the 250,000 classroom shortage.

They also suggested setting up clinics with adequate equipment and nurses in each school, and implementating appropriate protocols in all educational institutions during hot weather.

“We cannot allow another generation of Filipino children to study in overcrowded, overheated classrooms that endanger their health and compromise their education,” Quetua said. He further emphasized that the allocation of adequate funds for quality infrastructure should no longer be postponed.

The group supports the passage of House Bill 6398 or the Safe and Healthy Facilities for Educational Institutions Act, primarily proposed by ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro, who is also a Makabayan Coalition senatorial candidate in this 2025 election.

Quetua said this is not just a simple matter of “comfortable” school conditions but upholding the basic right of youth to education. “The Marcos administration must act now before this crisis claims lives,” he said.