The purpose of suspending classes and office work during a storm is to protect the students and workers from the risk of accidents or any untoward incidents caused by forces of nature. This purpose is defeated when the student or worker still has to go to and from the school and the office and be subjected to the dangers of the storm before they are told that school/work is suspended.
The suspension of classes and work is useless when the students and the workers are subjected to the dangers of the storm when what we want is to prevent these accidents from happening. Imagine a worker having to wake up early at dawn to prepare to go to work. Despite the heavy winds and the rain, she bravely goes out of her house to commute to work. Since the streets are already flooded there are no more jeepneys. She has no choice but to wade in the flood in her high heels into the main highway and take the taxi and spend more than her budget for her fare for the day. The taxi she rides almost met an accident because of the slippery roads. She gets in the office on time but only the guard is there. She learns that work will probably be suspended. Of course, work is suspended. She has to go back home now and probably has to walk in a heavier rain pour, waist deep flood water, and spend extra from her hard earned money. She meets another danger when the strong winds brings with her flying roofs and falling tree branches. Thankfully, she gets home safely all soaked in wet. Or so she thinks. For all her effort that day, it will mean nothing and will not be compensated. The next day, all is back to normal. But she is having fever, cough and too weak to go to work. She had to absent from work and because of that will take a cut from her salary. All because she was not advised early that there is no work!
This short work is a product of angst and disappointment of Nezer A. Soriano
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