Read the article below. After reading it, you need to do the...

Read the article below. After reading it, you need to do the following:

1. Think about your own opinion on this prompt: President Duterte wanted a

vaccine first for coronavirus disease 2019 before classes resume in the

Philippines. Should we postponed classes in the time of COVID 19?

2. Find the best textual evidence from the article to prove your assertion or

counterclaim; and

3. Write an opinion paragraph on the issue by stating your

assertion/counterclaim, citing the textual evidences to prove your claim and

explaining how these evidences support your opinion.

No Vaccine, No Classes? School Opening in Limbo; Alternative

Modes Of Learning Pushed

By: Janvic Mateo

President Duterte declared he wanted a vaccine first for coronavirus disease

2019 before classes would resume in the country. His spokesperson and

other officials said learning could continue through various means.

Government officials appear to have differing views on the specific

circumstances that will allow the reopening of classes in the country. The

debates were heightened with President Duterte's pronouncement that it is

useless to be talking about the resumption of classes without a vaccine for

coronavirus disease 2019.

"I will not allow the opening of classes na magdikit-dikit iyang mga bata na

'yan (where children would go near each other) Bahala na hindi na

makatapos (We would leave it to fate if they don't graduate). For this

generation, wala na matapos na doktor pati engineer (no doctor or engineer

will graduate)," the President said.

"Wala nang aral. Laro na lang (No more studying. Just play). Unless I am

sure that they are really safe...That's what I meant. Para sa akin, bakuna

muna. 'Pag nandiyan na ang bakuna, OK na (For me, there should be a

vaccine first. Once there's a vaccine, it would be OK)," he added.

Duterte expressed hope that a vaccine would be developed by the end of the

year.

"We will rely on the experts and the rich nations. They are feverishly

working on it. Once it is developed, I will ask you to go out. If you refuse, I

would drag you. Come on, let's stroll around once there is a vaccine," he

quipped. "But without a vaccine, it's really (dangerous). It spells disaster."

Some parents agreed with Duterte, saying they were worried about sending

their children to school amid the pandemic. This is despite the Department of Education (DepEd)'s announcement that only 15 to 20 students will be

allowed to attend physical classes in schools.

There are also concerns about internet connection and lack of

preparedness for home schooling or online learning for many students in

the country.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque, in his virtual press briefing on May

26, offered a different take on when classes can physically resume. In the

absence of what he described as a new normal, he said the government

would turn to flexible learning modes using television, radio and the

internet.

" 'Yung anunsiyo ni Presidente tungkol sa pasok sa eskwelahan, ang face-

to-face po ay kung meron na tayong new normal by Aug. 24," Roque said.

"At kung wala naman tayong new normal, we will resort to flexible

learning, gagamitin ang telebisyon, ang radyo at ang internet."

The new normal, according to Roque, means that the community

quarantine protocols are already lifted.

While the President said that there should be a vaccine before classes can

resume, Roque said being in a "new normal" is already enough to allow the

school opening.

"Pero kapag dumating naman po ang veinte cuatro (ng) Agosto at nasa new

normal tayo, pupuwede naman po. But kung hindi po talaga dumating

ang new normal at hindi mai-lift ang mga community quarantines, hindi

naman po ibig sabihin na hindi na mag-aaral ang ating mga kabataan (But

if we are under new normal on Aug. 24, it can be done. But if we are not yet

under new normal and the community quarantines are not yet lifted, it does

not mean that our youth can no longer study)," he stressed. "The bottomline

is, we will not compromise the health of our youth."

Roque said the President's statements also cover higher educational

institutions and the post-graduate levels.

"I'm advising all types of schools to prepare for the new normal. The

possibility really is we will have to be more creative. They will have to (adopt)

more blended or flexible learning. The President was right when he said we

are not safe until there is a vaccine," Roque said.

"Let's hope by the 24th (of August) or by September, at least we reach that

point that we are in the new normal because more or less we would be able

to manage the risks. That means we have slowed down significantly the

doubling rate of (COVID-19) and we have enough critical care facilities," he

added.

At a Senate hearing on Tuesday, May 26, Health Secretary Francisco Duque

III said it is safe to reopen classes on Aug. 24 provided that minimum health

standards are followed.

"Sa ngayon, tingin namin, ligtas naman po kung bubuksan natin ang

klase by Aug. 24. Kinakailangan po dito, siguraduhin lamang na lahat ng

ating minimum standards for health ay nakatalaga," Duque said.

Later, however, Duque supported calls to suspend face-to-face classes until

a vaccine against COVID is available to the public.