Angara: Schools May Tap MOOE for Electric Fans; Must Notify LGUs on Heat Suspensions
DEPED EL NIÑO – Public schools can tap their Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) to buy electric fans as the country braces for Super El Niño, Education Secretary Sonny Angara said on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, after visiting Lakan Dula High School in Tondo, Manila.
“They can use part of their MOOE to spend on electric fans and at the same time we can download (additional funds). It’s not that much, P2,000 depending on the model,” Angara told reporters. He also met Maynilad Water Inc. officials, who pledged uninterrupted water supply for schools during the dry months.
Angara signed DepEd Memorandum No. 64, s. 2026, laying out heat rules for learners and teachers. Physical and home-based academic activities are ordered suspended once ambient temperature hits 42 degrees Celsius. Between 33 and 41 degrees, physical classes stop and learners shift to lighter home-based tasks and health check-ins.
When temperatures sit at 27 to 32 degrees, school heads may shorten face-to-face hours or move to hybrid and flexible home-based schedules. Below 27 degrees, regular in-person classes may continue with scheduled hydration breaks.
School heads must also alert local governments whenever they suspend classes or change delivery modes because of extreme heat. “Just notify the LGU. Part ’yun. Required ’yun. Kasi part of coordination ’yun. Para hindi magulat si mayor o si governor na bakit nag-uuwian na ’yung mga bata,” Angara said.
At Lakan Dula, Principal Raffy Caballes said the school is preparing a learning and service continuity plan and has surveyed which students have gadgets and adult support at home if lessons go remote. SPTA president Raquel Garcia warned that not every household has internet or devices, and some families still rely on borrowed connections.
The guidance lands as schools scramble for practical heat fixes that do not wait for a separate capital outlay. A few thousand pesos per fan will not cool every classroom overnight, Angara implied, but it gives principals a clear authority to act from funds they already manage while DepEd looks at supplemental downloads.
Angara said water availability, conservation and recycling are central to DepEd’s El Niño prep, even while current supply remains adequate. Science Secretary Renato Solidum Jr. separately urged the public not to hoard drinking water, noting dams including Angat remain near normal operating levels as the very strong El Niño is expected to intensify toward year-end and into the first half of 2027.
For teachers and school heads racing deadlines before the hottest stretch, the message from Pasig is practical: buy the fans you need from MOOE, keep LGUs in the loop, and follow the heat bands so learning continues without putting children at risk.