by Act Phils on Sunday, September 2, 2012 at 11:18pm ·
September 3, 2012
Press Release
Teachers open Teachers’ Month with a coordinated Bell Ringing Day and Picket-protest on DepEd’s 2013-budget hearing
As proposed, the Department of Education having been appropriated P292.7 Billion will again get the biggest chunk in the proposed P2.006 trillion national budget for 2013.
“Pnoy and DepEd boast that education always gets the biggest pie or allocation in our national budget but what is amiss here?” Ms France Castro, Secretary-general of ACT asked. “Pnoy mentioned grand reforms in education during his SONA but again his “empowerment budget” skirted major demands from our end, Ms. Castro, added.
For teachers nationwide, the meager salary of teachers remains one of the most pressing concerns confronting Philippine education that Aquino must address. Entry-level teachers are receiving only P18,549 ($441.64) a month under the Salary Standardization Law 3. “This is demoralizing to many teachers, who are supposedly considered as ‘professionals’ yet receiving a salary which is way below the P957 ($22.065) daily family living wage in the National Capital Region”, Ms France Castro said.
Pnoy also promised to fully cover the shortfall in quality public school teachers by allocating P13.4 billion for the creation of 61,510 teaching positions to include the regularization of 7,967 kindergarten volunteer teachers.
“But we are not applauding Pnoy’s grand promises. He will hire teachers to fill the gaps but he is not ready to pay teachers with decent salaries. In real terms, he is considered “teacher’s enemy no.1“these days for a good reason. Pnoy has ignored our dialogues in the past and have categorically said, that there will be no salary increases during his term,” Ms. Castro emphasized.
“But we will not let things pass as he wishes. If Pnoy is really is serious to honor teachers this World Teachers Month, then he must simply look back and read and act on our demand: SG 15 for teachers now! and give the teachers what is due to them,” Ms Castro ended.###
Reference: Ms. France Castro, Secretary General, Cellphone No. 09178502124
Mr. Benjie Valbuena, Vice-Chairperson, Cellphone No. 09182399222
Media Liaison – Zenie Lao, Cellphone No. 09198198903
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