#WalangPasok, Walang Sweldo

The City of Manila cancelled classes for October 30, which means that there really are no classes for the entire week until November 3.

While students are probably rejoicing, I can sense the groan of all the part-time faculty who are mostly no work, no pay.

If you consider the many school cancellations because of bad weather and the transport strikes, and even the upcoming ones for the ASEAN summit, many part-timers are looking at reduced circumstances indeed. November alone only has two weeks' worth of work/pay.

Of course, not all schools have the no work, no pay rule. Some schools still pay you, but you can be sure that there will be some institutional make up classes down the road because they can't be giving you money for free.

All in all, I'm not a fan of this cancellation at even the slightest hint of ambon. Or cordoning off huge swaths of the metropolis when VIPs are in town. It started with the Pope's visit a couple of years ago. You literally cannot go out of your house and go somewhere else when there are road blockages. It seems like the Philippine government has become fond of this particular strategy. Freeze off parts of the city so they can have "security" for the VIPs.

On the other hand, not all sectors are happy with this. When government work is cancelled, so other important transactions are also at a standstill. The financial markets has opted to remain open during the ASEAN Summit on November 13-17. A good thing really, because lost days mean a loss of revenue and lost time for all.