(PNA file photo) MANILA - Ahead of the opening of classes next week, a professor from the De La Salle University on Wednesday urged fellow teachers to watch out for the learners' mental health. In a webinar, Maria Caridad Tarroja, who teaches psychology, said both students and teachers have adjusted to remote learning in amid the pandemic. Gearing for the face-to-face classes would require them to make adjustments again. "Online classes may be okay for some, but these may have been overwhelming for some," she said, pointing out that this was just among the stressors that students had to deal with. The pandemic had prevented the students from socializing even as online classes brought added financial and technological challenges to them, including internet access. Tarroja added that social media also affects learners' mental health, as students tend to compare themselves with others or get consumed by the number of "likes" in their posts. She suggested removi
KILLED IN AMBUSH. Former chairperson Felipe Sara Maluenda of Barangay Kidama in Matalam, North Cotabato province; and his worker Joseph Mariano Flores, slump dead inside the white sedan vehicle the ex-official was driving following their ambush on Sunday evening (Aug. 14, 2022). A manhunt is ongoing against the killers. (Photo courtesy of Matalam MPS) MATALAM, North Cotabato - A police manhunt is underway against a group behind the ambush-slay of a former village chief and his worker in Barangay Kidama here on Sunday evening. Lt. Col Jingle Parallag, town police chief, identified Monday the victims as Felipe Sara Maluenda, 61, former chairperson of Barangay Kidama, and Joseph Mariano Flores, a laborer and resident of Alamada town, North Cotabato province. Parallag said Maluenda was driving his sedan together with Flores on their way to Barangay Kilada when gunmen positioned on both sides of the road at a local sugarcane plantation opened fire on them around 7:00 pm. Both victims were b
HELPING HANDS. Parents and volunteers at the Sta. Ana National High School in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental participate in the "Brigada Eskwela", a national program of the Department of Education, in this undated photo. It involves education sector stakeholders' help in preparing public schools before classes start. (Photo courtesy of Sta. Ana National HS) CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY - Every school year, the Department of Education (DepEd) launches the "Brigada Eskwela" in public schools grounded on the Filipino spirit of bayanihan (cooperation). Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the program also known as the National Schools Maintenance Week underscores the importance of cooperation between the academe and the community. At Sta. Ana National High School (SANHS) in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental, "Brigada Eskwela" has become an annual ritual of sorts that even with the two-year disruption, parents, teachers, and learners still joined hands to make the resumption of face-to
LEARNING MODES. A school in Abra sustains damage from a magnitude 7 earthquake that hit the province and other parts of Northern Luzon on July 27, 2022. The Department of Education in the Cordillera said it has begun setting up temporary learning spaces and looking at other learning platforms for learners whose schools were affected by the tremor. (PNA photo courtesy of DepEd-CAR) BAGUIO CITY - The Department of Education in the Cordillera Administrative Region (DepEd-CAR) said the department is setting up temporary learning spaces and looking at other learning platforms for learners whose schools were affected by the Abra earthquake on July 27. "The opening of classes is still on August 22 in all public schools in the region, including in Abra," Cyrille Gaye Miranda of the DepEd-Cordillera Public Affairs Office said Wednesday. "Ongoing ang assessment and validation ng mga damaged buildings for the program of work preparation and possible funding (the assessment and vali
BACK TO NORMAL. Abra residents have started returning to their homes, livelihood activities and work more than a week after a magnitude 7 earthquake struck the province. Employees are shown in this photo entering the capitol building in Bangued, Abra Monday morning (Aug. 8, 2022). (PNA photo by Liza T. Agoot) BAGUIO CITY - The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (PDRRMC) in Abra said it has closed most evacuation centers as people started returning to their homes and businesses went back to their normal operations more than a week after a strong quake jolted the province. Arnel Valdez, PDRRM officer, said in a press conference on Sunday, "residents went back to their houses after they were told of the safety of their structures." From 23 evacuation areas that opened following the magnitude 7 earthquake last July 27, only eight are left operating as people have started to leave after their residences were checked and declared safe. The Department of Social We