1. President Rodrigo R. Duterte, through a Memorandum dated September 30, 2020 issued by Executive Secretary Salvador C. Medialdea, approved Resolution No. 75-A dated September 28, 2020 issued by the Inter-agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases providing for the risk-level classifications of Provinces, Highly Urbanized Cities (HUCs), and Independent Component Cities (ICCs) in the Philippines effective from October 1 to October 31, 2020.
2. Based on the said IATF Resolution, the Province of Cavite remains to be under Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) from October 1 to 31, 2020. Under the Omnibus Guidelines on the Implementation of Community Quarantine in the Philippines with Amendments as of October 8, 2020, “work in all public and private offices may be allowed to resume physical reporting to work at full operating capacity, with alternative work arrangements for persons who are sixty (60) years old and above, those with immunodeficiency, comorbidity, or other health risks, and pregnant women.”
3. While the IATF Guidelines provided that physical reporting for work at full operational capacity may be allowed in areas declared under MGCQ, the DepEd Guidelines on Work Arrangement, which is DepEd Order No. 011, s. 2020 with clarifications issued through Memorandum DM-PHRODFO-2020-00198, provides that “a work from home arrangement is still highly recommended for both teaching and non-teaching personnel, especially for functions/processes/services that can be rendered through alternative strategies and remote modalities.
4. Thus, the Division of Dasmariñas deem it most appropriate to continue adopting a combination of Alternative Work Arrangement (AWA) in the division and schools while the Province of Cavite is under MGCQ and the threat of COVID-19 persists to exist as provided under DepEd Order No. 11, s. 2020. The AWA could be a combination of work-from-home (WFH), skeleton work force and physical reporting provided, however, that only those personnel whose tasks can only be rendered within the office or schools/community learning centers (CLCs) may be required to physically report to offices and schools subject to rotational schemes as suggested in the aforesaid DepEd Order which may include personnel performing critical functions and those assigned in the distribution and retrieval of Self Learning Modules (SLMs) in schools.
5. Heads of offices, and schools/CLC heads shall continue to implement the following precautionary measures in their areas of responsibility:
a. Disinfection or decontamination of its buildings, facilities, and office vehicles.
b. Disinfection should be part of the regular maintenance and upkeep of the office/school/CLC.
c. Conduct of regular health status check to ensure that no one is exhibiting any of the symptoms of COVID-19 disease.
d. Modification of the workplace layout to ensure observance of physical distancing requirements of those who will be reporting to the office.
6. Moreover, the directives provided in the following issuances, among others, are to be implemented and observed for safe and efficient learning delivery:
a. DepEd Order No. 14, s. 2020 (Guidelines on the Required Health Standards in Basic Education Offices and Schools)
b. Division Memorandum No. 184, s. 2020 (Alternative Work Arrangement Template)
c. Division Memorandum No. 198, s. 2020 (Memorandum Circular Orde No. 03-s-2020 [Preventive Measures Against COVID-19])
d. Unnumbered Division Memorandum dated October 02, 2020 (Suggested Distance Learning and Modular Distance Learning Processes and Instructional Supervision Process)
e. Division Memorandum No. 190, s. 2020 (Reiteration of Health and Safety Protocols in Schools and Offices, and Use of Stay Safe PH Application for CSDO and School Personnel)
7. Strict compliance with and immediate dissemination of this memorandum are hereby directed.
