A TEACHERS’ union is calling for their inclusion in the government’s financial assistance amid the pandemic impact of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
In a statement, Alliance of Concerned Teachers-Davao Region (ACT-Davao) said they are disappointed for the non-inclusion of the teachers in the local government’s food ration distribution and the social amelioration program (SAP) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
“Nadismaya usab ang mga teachers kay wala man diay sila labot sa food packs sa panggamhanan ug Social Amelioration Program o SAP nga unta tao man sad ang mga magtutudlo nga pit-os man sad ang ilang kahimtang kay wala man nahatag ang insaktong salary increase nga ilang ginapangayo [sic] (The teachers are disappointed for their non-inclusion in the food packs and the SAP. They are also experiencing financial woes after the government has still not given us the exact salary increase we’ve long been asking for),” ACT-Davao said in a statement.
The group said teachers are also gravely affected by the Covid-19 since they are not exempted from the financial impact brought about the lockdown. Aside from the money to buy food and other essential items, they said teachers are continuously paying their loans to lending institutions, including banks, despite their current situation.
Aside from that, they are also calling for the suspension of salary deductions from the month of March until May to help them capacitate in their daily expenses.
They claimed that the Department of Education did not immediately act on their request for a moratorium. Hence, their salaries were already deducted, and a refund would take a long process.
ACT-Davao also raised their concern on the “stay at home policy” wherein teachers will have to conduct classes and submit their documents online.
They said not everyone has gadgets such as laptops and tablets. They also said some teachers are only relying on cellular phone data for internet access since not everyone has internet WiFi at home. They added that this would be a financial burden on their part.
“Kung kini usa na ka dakong pagsulay sa mga magtutudlo ang pagcomply sa mga requirements, labaw nga lisod kini sa mga bata o estudyante kay dili pod tanan adunay access sa internet ug teknolohiya. (It is already a struggle on our part to comply the necessary requirements, how much more on the part of the students who do not access to internet or gadgets.),” ACT-Davao said.
DepEd-Davao Jenielito Atillo said in a recent virtual presser that Education Secretary Leonor Briones already directed to have a release of the salaries of all public school teachers for the month of May.
Atillo said DepEd-Davao is working on the release of their clothing allowance, performance-based bonus, and 13th-month pay, which is scheduled to be released on May 15.
He also said Secretary Briones already forwarded to Congress to include the private school teachers in the social amelioration program (SAP) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
For teachers who do not have resources such as Wi-Fi, laptops, and other gadgets, Atillo said the Education Secretary already ordered all public schools to make available all gadgets and other resources of the school to teachers.
Meanwhile, Atillo said DepEd national has not given a confirmed schedule for the opening of the school year 2020 to 2021 as it still has to be recommended to President Rodrigo Duterte by the Interagency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID).
But he said that teachers, as early as now, are ordered to prepare for the opening by crafting a learning continuity plan.