Thursday, November 29, 2007 Classrooms, teachers' pay By Jujemay G. Awit Sun.Star Staff Reporter
INVEST in education in your municipalities, President Arroyo challenged town mayors gathered in Cebu yesterday.
The President, speaking before a gathering of the League of Municipalities (LMP) yesterday at the Waterfront Hotel in Cebu City, said education is the biggest item in the 2008 national budget.
She urged the mayors to match this by prioritizing investments in education in their area.
“Education is the key to the next generation in order to get ahead and get a good job. It is a core value in Philippine society and family life,” Arroyo said.
The President said every classroom should hold only 50 students, to make education effective.
“Education is the foundation of economic prosperity and individual liberty, justice and self-worth. That is why we should help each other continue to invest in school constructions in the elementary level,” Arroyo said.
She told the mayors to report to LMP President Ramon Guico Jr. if there are classrooms that have more than 50 students for every class shift so the national government can prioritize the building of classrooms.
That statement drew loud applause from the mayors.
The President also encouraged college scholarships in every municipality through the “town scholar” program of the Commission on Higher Education (Ched).
The best high school graduate in every municipality will be named the “town scholar” and will get free college education.
The President also said she hopes Congress will pass the bill increasing salaries of teachers, whom she described as the “backbone of the educational system.”
Arroyo called on local government units to do them part in making the teachers happy by giving them bonuses.
“As much as possible, use your school board fund to give our teachers a little extra something at least for this Christmas,” she said.
The Local Government Code provides that the school board should be headed by the local chief executive.
Arroyo also said she recognized the fact that teachers are responsible for the success of the recent synchronized barangay and youth elections.
This is why, she said, that she tasked the budget secretary two weeks ago to release an additional P1,000 honorarium to teachers who served in the Oct. 29 elections.
Arroyo issued the order after teachers complained that their honoraria was cut after the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) approved only P1,000 of the original P2,000.
Arroyo said she ordered DBM and the Department of Education to coordinate with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in looking into policies pertaining to the release of pay for teachers in election duty “so the miscommunication during the barangay polls will not happen again.”
This drew another round of applause for the President.
What drew jeers from the crowd was the President’s announcement that she will only appropriate one ambulance, a fire truck and a patrol car to every provincial chapter of the LMP.
This was in answer to the request of the mayors for the three vehicles. But the mayors wanted each municipality to be allocated three vehicles.
The mayors only settled down when Arroyo explained that her move is a good start toward assigning vehicles to the towns.
Arroyo then ordered Presidential Management Staff Director General Cerge Remonde to identify which municipality in every province needs what type of vehicle the most.
She also acknowledged Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia in her effort to provide the vehicles in the different municipalities in Cebu.
During her speech, Arroyo also promised to get rid of corruption, hunger and poverty in her goal to make the Philippines a first world country in 20 years.
She said three things will make this possible: a robust middle class, world-class infrastructure and a strong government.
Arroyo also thanked LMP for passing a resolution supporting the Japan-Philippine Economic Partnership Agreement (Jpepa).
“I’m sure many of your municipalities have either experienced a Japanese investment or more likely experienced the blessing of a project funded by Japanese organization. Therefore, we know how important Japan is in our quest to reach first world in 20 years,” Arroyo said.
