Joy Belmonte on QC's late class suspensions: Sobrang naniwala kami sa PAGASA

Quezon City Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte on Thursday said they relied too much on advisories released by the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), leading the city government to decide not to suspend classes immediately.

"Siguro yung pinaka-kasalanan ko dito ay sobra kaming naniwala sa advisories ng PAGASA, talagang binatay natin yung desisyon doon na after a while nalaman ko kasi nagkaroon na ng panic sa Quezon City," Belmonte said in an interview on GMA News' "Balita Pilipinas Ngayon."

While most of the local government units in Metro Manila canceled classes in the morning, Quezon City initially did not suspend classes citing PAGASA's forecast of "light to moderate" rain as cyclone Gorio enhanced habagat rains.

Quezon City schools like Ateneo de Manila University, Claret, and Angelicum however decided to suspend classes anyway.

The city government's decision drew the ire of some netizens on Twitter making "Joy Belmonte" and "Quezon City" trend on the social media platform.

Quezon City ended up announcing class suspensions at 11 a.m.

Belmonte defended the decision, saying they need to have a solid basis before they call off classes.

"Batay sa aking pakikipagugnayan at konsulta sa aming Quezon City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council, ayaw naming magsuspende ng klase na walang batayan na sapat. Kasi napansin namin yung mga ibang LGU mabilis mag-anunsyo, the night before pa lang pero parang nag-announce din siya so sumunod din siya," she said.

"Pero hindi naging malinaw yung tinatawag na basis. Kaya yung NDRRMC, based on process naman talaga kailangan yung pinakahuling abiso ng PAGASA ang siyang magiging batayan natin para magdesisyon kung tayo ay magsususpinde o hindi," she added.

Gorio continues to gain strength as it headed toward Taiwan on Thursday afternoon, prompting PAGASA to issue a cyclone warning over extreme northern Luzon.

As of 4 p.m., Gorio had strengthened into a severe tropical storm with maximum winds of of 90 kph and gusts of up to 115 kph. It was last seen 595 km east of Tuguegarao City, Cagayan, moving northwest at 13 kph.

Asked about Belmonte's explanation of waiting for stronger advisories from PAGASA before suspending classes , Galang said: "Well gaya ng sinabi ko kanina characteristic talaga ng habagat, hindi naman 'yan tuloy tuloy, tumitigil talaga yan."

"Although maaari po nung tumawag sila rito, wala po talagang nakataas na advisory kaya wala silang nakita. Kaya kung pagbabasehan naman po yung forecast, nakalagay po doon monsoon rains which may trigger flashfloods and landslides, ang ibig sabihin po nun, may time talaga na lalakas ang ulan kaya hindi naman yun tuloy-tuloy," he added. —Marlly Rome C. Bondoc/JST/KVD, GMA News