Monday, August 25, 2008 DepEd chief urged to join teachers rally
THE Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) and the Teachers Dignity Coalition (TDC) on Sunday challenged Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Jesli Lapus to join teachers in their march to the Batasan on Tuesday.
The group aims to press for the immediate enactment of a bill providing for a P9,000 salary increase for teachers and non-teaching personnel in the country.
ACT national chairperson Antonio Tinio dared Lapus to show his sincerity in uplifting the economic plight of teachers and DepEd non-teaching personnel by joining the teachers scheduled march to Batasan next week.
Tinio said teachers acknowledged Lapus expression of support particularly on its economic struggle, noting that the education secretary released several statements enjoining and "lobbying" for the immediate approval of the proposed law providing additional compensation to public school teachers.
"We challenged Secretary Lapus to join the teachers march to Batasan to show his sincerity as well as intercede in behalf of the more than 500,000 public school teachers and the non-teaching personnel of DepEd nationwide for the immediate approval of the law granting the salary increase," Tinio said.
On the other hand, TDC president Benjo Basas said the group has formally invited Lapus to join their march to listen to Bukidnon Representative Teofisto Guingona III "privilege speech" on the matter.
Guingona as one of the principal sponsors of the Lower House version of House Bill (HB) 4734 will deliver his privilege speech that will coincide with the teachers' grand lobbying effort in the House of Representatives.
"We are very confident of the immediate approval of the bill with no less than the secretary education on our side enjoining his former colleagues in Congress to pass the proposed bill," Basas said.
The TDC and ACT are among the teachers groups, lobbying for the early passage of both Senate Bill (SB) 2408 and HB 4734.
Basas said, beginning next week, TDC members from different school divisions in Metro Manila and nearby provinces will start trooping to Batasan to ask for congressmen's support.
"We believe that the more than 5,000 Metro Manila teachers who will be present in the plenary session could convince the honorable people in the Lower House that what we demand is a necessity," he said.
Earlier, ACT and TDC lauded the passage on its second reading of the proposed SB 2408 providing additional compensation for teachers and DepEd non-teaching personnel.
The proposed law provides that the salary increase will be paid in three equal tranches annually from 2008 to 2010. The bill also provides some other compensation and support like the remuneration from local government units (LGUs), medical allowance and the Magna Carta bonus.
Lapus, for his part, in an earlier statement vowed DepEd's "full support for the approval of the House Bill 4734 and Senate Bill 2408 because we have always been cognizant of the need to improve a lot of our teachers." (AH/Sunnex)
