MAJORITY of Filipinos want to bring back students’ summer break in April and May, a survey conducted by Pulse Asia showed.

The poll commissioned by Senator Sherwin Gatchalian and conducted from June 19-23, 2023 revealed that 80 percent of the respondents nationwide agreed on the return of the old school break, 11 percent could not agree or disagree, and 8 percent said they disagreed.

Gatchalian filed Senate Resolution 672 seeking a Senate inquiry to re-evaluate the critical factors in determining the school opening.

The inquiry will identify policy interventions for the effective intervention of Republic Act 11480, which serves as the basis for the school calendar.

“Malinaw ang boses ng ating mga kababayan na nais nilang ibalik ang bakasyon ng mga mag-aaral sa buwan ng Abril at Mayo. Bagama’t hindi magiging madali ang pagbabalik ng dating school calendar, magsasagawa tayo ng pagdinig upang pag-aralan nang husto ang mga hakbang para itaguyod ang kapakanan ng ating mga guro at mga mag-aaral,” the chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic Education said.

Republic Act 11480, which was signed on July 17, 2020, amended Section 3 of Republic Act 7797, which provides that the school year shall start on the first Monday of June but not later than the last day of August.

Under Republic Act 11480, the President, upon the recommendation of the Secretary of Education, may set a different date for the start of the school year in parts of or throughout the whole country in the event of a declaration of a state of emergency or state of calamity.

The enactment of Republic Act 11480 allowed the Department of Education to move the opening of School Year 2020-2021 to October 5, 2020.