Filipino Teachers Are Forced to Repair Classrooms at Their Own Expense as the DepEd Withholds Funds

For two years face-to-face classes have been suspended. Now that school is about to resume teachers are rushing to prepare. This includes taking out loans to fix their classrooms.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1578832/teachers-taking-out-loans-to-prepare-classrooms

After the rigors of distance learning, perennially underpaid public school teachers now have to use personal resources to retrofit classrooms in preparation for face-to-face classes.

Teachers Dignity Coalition chair Benjo Basas on Tuesday cited reports of teachers having to take out loans in order to buy paint, iron sheets and glass panes to get their classrooms ready.

“That is the problem [of] our teachers. While they are sincere in volunteering, they are being taken advantage of,” Basas said in a phone interview.

He said teachers were not only providing free labor for the enhancement of their classrooms but also soliciting funds from private donors to buy the materials needed for face-to-face classes.

The Department of Education (DepEd) acknowledged the teachers’ added burden and advised them to coordinate with their respective school heads for possible reimbursement.

“We confirm that there are teachers who are doing beyond the regular work for beautifying, enhancing and putting more things in the classroom,” Annalyn Sevilla, DepEd undersecretary for finance, said in a Tuesday press briefing.

“We are thankful to our teachers [for] their creativity and resourcefulness, but we don’t want them to be abused as well,” Sevilla said.

Apart from the regular funds for maintenance and other operating expenses, the DepEd has provided an additional budget of close to P1 billion to support the expansion of in-person classes nationwide.

There are items that can be reimbursed, such as supplies, under the department’s budget and accounting rules and regulations, Sevilla said. Thus, teachers were told to approach their school heads to discuss the existing policies.

But Basas was skeptical. Responding to Sevilla’s statement that teachers could reach out to school heads to talk about reimbursement, he said: “Can they really reimburse [the teachers’ expenses]? Teachers are willing to spend, but they should not be given false hopes.”

This is absolutely shameful. Taking "out loans in order to buy paint, iron sheets and glass panes to get their classrooms ready?" Have the schools become so rundown in two years that they need to be completely refurbished? If the schools need new glass window panes or a new coat of paint shouldn't the Department of Education be paying professionals to do that? They have enough money for personal vehicles.

Why does the DepEd need their own fleet of vehicles? 

So, where are all the funds?

https://mb.com.ph/2022/03/14/wheres-the-budget-deped-urged-to-swiftly-mobilize-funds-for-in-person-classes/

With the gradual resumption of in-person learning in schools, a group urged the Department of Education (DepEd) to ensure that there will be enough funds for the progressive expansion of face-to-face classes.

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines, in a statement issued Monday, March 14, asked the DepEd where the budget for school reopening preparations is. This, after receiving reports, that teachers had to spend their own money to fulfill the requirements for the resumption of face-to-face classes. 

“Our teachers and school heads are toiling in schools even on weekends to clean the classrooms, repaint desks, install signages, and others at their own expense so that their schools will pass the validation process for inclusion in the implementation of limited face-to-face classes,” ACT Secretary General Raymond Basilio said. 

ACT alleged that in Tarlac, for instance, “teachers shell out money from their own pockets to prepare their classrooms for the expanded implementation of limited face-to-face classes.” 

Based on the accounts of teachers and school heads, Basilio said that the participating schools have not received any additional budget to fund the requirements set by the DepEd and the Department of Health (DOH) to qualify for the limited in-person learning. 

“However, it is not fair that they and their already too meager salaries are made to bear the burden of physically preparing the schools,” he added. 

Basilio alleged almost six months since the DepEd had announced that it is pursuing limited face-to-face classes, the “funds are still unavailable on the ground.” 

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers??  Who cares what they have to say right? They are a communist front don't ya know?

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2022/03/31/2171110/duterte-pinoys-dont-vote-kabag-candidates

In his public address last Monday, Duterte said the rebels have used the party-list system to infiltrate Congress and referred to them by the acronym KABAG (stomach pains in Filipino).

“You will see from their behavior and the way they espouse their advocacy for a party, their drift is really to the left,” Duterte said. “So you won’t forget, remember the KABAG: Kabataan-K, Anakpawis-A, Bayan Muna-B, (Alliance) of Concerned Teachers- A and Gabriela.”

He accused them of being legal fronts of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), political arm of the communist rebels. In the House of Representatives, these party-list groups form the so-called Makabayan bloc.

“Do not vote for them,” the President said. “Let us put an end to that. Let us give everything to the barangays. We are wasting lives. We are wasting money.”

ACT should not expect their concerns to be addressed anytime soon. That's a win against the insurgency right? Wrong. It's a loss for the Philippines as teachers with low morale and low pay aren't going to be offering adequate instruction because their minds will be elsewhere. As it is less than 10 percent of Filipino children can read simple text or comprehend a simple story.