MANILA, (PIA) -- President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Tuesday announced the plan of Vice President and concurrent Education Secretary Sara Duterte to implement full face-to-face classes by November.

In a briefing by the President on Tuesday in Malacañang, Marcos said children will also be encouraged to get boosted against the COVID-19 Omicron variant. He said Duterte announced her plan during their first executive meeting.

"First example of that, was Inday Sara's announcement that we have a plan for full face-to-face classes by November, this year, September we will start a phased face-to-face schooling and with that, face-to-face will end up, in early November as already 100 percent attendance of the children," he said.

However, Marcos said they will be encouraging booster vaccination, especially among the youth, to combat the increasing threat of less harmful, yet more contagious Omicron variants.

On Tuesday, the Department of Health (DOH) gave the green light on the booster shots for ages 12 to 17 years old.

Former Education secretary Leonor Briones, meanwhile, assured earlier that vaccination against COVID-19 will not be made mandatory for learners nationwide.

Briones also made it clear that for schools to qualify for face-to-face classes, they must comply with measures by the DOH.

These include parental consent, DOH health assessment, and the go-signal from the local government unit.

As of mid-June, around 38,000 schools nationwide are nominated for face-to-face classes. (PIA-NCR)