Melo Villareal
APEC meeting to be held in Manila on November; Malacañang declares 4 days as holidays in NCR
Due to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting occurring in Manila this November 18-19, 2015, the Department of Education (DepEd) has declared a suspension of both public and private pre-school to high school classes in the National Capital Region (NCR) on November 17 and 20, 2015.
APEC Philippines Long Weekend Holidays November 2015
According to a memorandum released by DepEd Director IV Luz S. Almeda on August 10, 2015, DepEd has suspended classes on November 17 (Tuesday) and November 20 (Friday) “pursuant to Proclamation No. 1072 [which declares] November 18 and 19, 2015 as non-working holidays in the National Capital Region due to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders Meeting…” 21 APEC member countries are expected to go to Manila and attend the meeting on November 18 (Wednesday) and 19 (Thursday), and the suspension of classes on November 17 and 20 are “for security reasons and to ease traffic congestion.” Students in NCR are thus given a total of six days of vacation, from November 17, Tuesday, to November 22, Sunday. The six-days-long vacation is dubbed the ‘longest weekend’.
“School divisions are given the discretion to determine the schedule of make-up classes for the 2 day suspension of classes occasioned by the APEC Economic Leaders Meeting,” the same memorandum reads. “Likewise, the School Heads are reminded to ensure that the required total number of school days as stipulated in the DepEd Order No. 9, s. 2015 is complied.”
APEC 2015 in the Philippines
Meanwhile, on Twitter, #WalangPasok trends as netizens spread the word about the so-called ‘longest weekend’ in NCR. Other users, on the other hand, are pleading for a cancellation of classes for the college level as well.
The Philippines is APEC 2015’s host country. Activities that occurred in the country started on the month of January in Clark, Subic. Other provinces in the country that have hosted APEC-related events throughout the year are Tagaytay, Cebu, Laoag, Bacolod, Boracay, Bataan, and Iloilo. Cebu hosted the most number of APEC-related events.
The APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting this November 18-19 is the second to the last APEC-related activity to be held in the Philippines. The 2015 APEC Typhoon Symposium will be the last APEC-related event in the country, which will occur on November 24-25, 2015.
