General Santos City’s public schools remain suspended following a strong aftershock that rattled the city and neighboring Sarangani province, even as the Department of Education (DepEd) clears most other schools across Region 12 (Soccsksargen) to resume in-person classes.
The June 23, 2026 report from the Philippine Daily Inquirer confirmed that while the majority of public schools in Central Mindanao have been given the green light to reopen, General Santos City and Sarangani are the notable exceptions. Local education officials cited ongoing safety concerns due to continuous aftershock activity stemming from the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck Mindanao on June 8, 2026.
The original tremor, one of the strongest to hit the southern Philippines in decades, caused significant damage to school buildings, cracked walls, and damaged structural foundations across dozens of educational institutions in the city. Engineers and building inspectors have been conducting thorough assessments to determine which facilities are safe for students and staff to re-enter.
“We cannot compromise the safety of our students and teachers,” a DepEd-12 spokesperson said earlier. “While we understand the desire to return to normalcy, the aftershocks have not fully subsided, and some school structures require further evaluation before we can allow classes to resume.”
The prolonged suspension has affected thousands of students in General Santos City, many of whom have been out of school for over two weeks. Parents and guardians have expressed mixed emotions — relief that safety remains the priority, but concern over the learning disruption.
Some schools have shifted to modular and online learning alternatives to minimize the academic impact. Teachers have been distributing self-learning modules through community learning hubs and online platforms where internet access permits.
Mayor Lorelie Pacquiao’s office has been coordinating with DepEd and the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office to fast-track building inspections. The local government has also set up temporary learning spaces in barangay halls and covered courts for students who need supervised study areas.
Meanwhile, neighboring provinces such as South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, and Cotabato have already resumed classes in most areas, with only a handful of heavily damaged schools remaining closed. The contrast has put additional pressure on GenSan officials to expedite their own assessments without cutting corners on safety.
Residents are advised to stay tuned to official announcements from DepEd-12 and the City Government of General Santos for updates on when classes will resume. The next round of structural inspections is expected to conclude within the week, which could determine whether a phased reopening is possible before the end of June.
General Santos City, known as the tuna capital of the Philippines, is home to a large number of public elementary and secondary schools serving over 100,000 students across the city’s 26 barangays.