At least 80 percent of learners in public schools in Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental went back to their classes as the new academic year opened on Monday, June 16.

Officer-in-charge Dr. Juditha Mapue, Assistant Schools Division Superintendent of the Department of Education (DepEd) – Dumaguete, told the Philippine News Agency that some parents were still enrolling their children for Academic Year 2025-2026.

“It is difficult yet to determine the number of enrollees based on the LIS [Learner Information System] as this needs validation, but based on classroom headcount, we can estimate the learners that are already in school,” Mapue said.

“The number is still expected to increase a bit in the next week or so.”

The LIS is a DepEd online platform for managing student information and is a centralized database system for learners.

Mapue said the first day of classes was generally peaceful, based on the observations of DepEd officials who made the rounds of schools in this capital.

Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office spokesperson Lt. Stephen Polinar said the Philippine National Police directed “full deployment on the ground.”

“We realigned our personnel so that as much as possible, 85 percent will be on the ground while 15 percent will be assigned to office work,” Polinar said. (PNA)