A teacher at a school in Macabebe, Pampanga, didn’t mind the ankle-deep flood water inside her classroom.

Ma’am Mylene Ambrocio is still teaching.

The commitment of instructors and students may be seen in images posted by Lisa Marie David of Reuters on August 22, the first day of face-to-face lessons in public schools in the Philippines.

The adage “First day high!” is taken literally. Pampanga flood towns like Macabebe and even Hagonoy, Bulacan, which is a catch basin for Nueva Ecija floods.

Floods met people heading to school on the first day of school due to the high tide and rainfall delivered by typhoon Florita, which just departed the Philippine Area of Responsibility on Wednesday, August 24, 2022.

But it is no match for the emotions of instructors and pupils who are unconcerned about the flood.

According to Susan Enriquez’s account in Unang Hirit on Tuesday, August 23, the people in the villages, particularly the inhabitants of Hagonoy, are not afraid to the high water level.

Children rush to schools, wearing protective gear such as boots and riding boats or makeshift vehicles such as tikling (tricycles of unusual height), to begin the 2022–2023 school year.

The majority of them wear boots and slippers instead of shoes.

Others kept their feet up to keep the water from reaching them and soaking them during class.

Floods have long been an issue in many Pampanga and Hagonoy municipalities.

According to an interview with Hagonoy Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) Officer Rene Crisostomo, the local administration is obligated to solve this problem with the help of the provincial and national governments.

He stated, “Sa kasalukuyan po ay meron po ongoing na paghuhukay dito sa Barangay San Isidro at Barangay Carillo.

“Upang ang tubig baha po na ito, ang high tide na ito ay maibsan. Hindi man po totally mawala ay mabawasan.”

If instructors and students do not give up, moms who are attempting to discover solutions to lessen the difficulties their children face upon starting school will also battle.

The flood would not harm her Grade 7 kid, according to Hagonoy-based Mommy Grace Cruz of Barangay San Agustin, who was interviewed by PEP.ph, especially now that he is delighted to enroll after two years of online and modular lessons owing to the COVID-19 epidemic.

According to the mother, “Excited pa din po siya pumasok kahit na mataas ang tubig sa mga dadaanan saka baha din sa mismong eskwelahan. Nagtitiyaga po siya.”