MEMBERS of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Region 7 Union want President Ferdinand "BongBong" Marcos Jr. to be more visible, as he marks his first 100 days of service on Friday, October 7, 2022.
Antonia Maamo-Lim, president of ACT Region VII Union, stressed the need for Marcos to be more engaged with his subjects, stressing his presence as a leader was not felt immensely by Filipinos in his first 100 days.
"Di kami maka-ingun nga na-satisfy mi kay parang di naman namin sya naramdaman," said Lim.
(We can't tell that we are satisfied because it's like we didn't feel him.)
Lim emphasized that Marcos should prioritize improving education by allocating more budget to the education sector and providing teachers and other workers enough salary to sustain their daily and family needs.
Recently, ACT-Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro filed House Bill 203 seeking to upgrade the entry pay rate of public school educators to salary grade 15, or P35,097, and teaching personnel in higher education to salary grade 16, or P38,150.
The law also aims to make P30,000 the entry-level salary of private school teachers.
Lim said most teachers spent their own money on teaching resources, such as laptops and internet connection. They even bought hand-washing items to ensure students would not develop Covid-19 infections in schools, she said.
"He (Marcos) should attend to serving the people and addressing the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, not birthday parties and vlogging because we cannot get anything out of those," Lim stated in Tagalog. (HIC, PJB)