Filipino teachers voice safety, security concerns
12/29/2009 | 05:18 PM
Of the many concerns aired by Filipino teachers this year, safety and security – especially in Mindanao – ranked as one of the most important.
This was emphasized by the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) in its latest year-end assessment posted at its Web site.
The group blamed the Philippine government for its “failure to secure conditions for peace and order in southern Mindanao together with the prevailing culture of impunity provide the context for the spate of kidnappings targeting teachers in 2009."
The group referred to a number of kidnapping cases this year whose victims were teachers, including a public school principal who was abducted and later beheaded by suspected Abu Sayyaf members.
After he was abducted, the severed head of Gabriel Canizares was later left at a gasoline station in Jolo, Sulu in November.
The national government “must step up [efforts] to ensure the safety and security of teachers, especially going into the May 2010 elections," the group added.
Human rights violations has not spared teachers
Moreover, ACT said the Arroyo government’s track record of human rights violations has not spared the education sector.
It said state forces have subjected teachers and teacher organizations to violence, harassment, and intimidation.
In January, young school teacher Rebelyn Pitao was murdered in Davao, bringing to 11 the number of teachers victimized by extra-judicial killings since 2001.
Pitao’s father is a commander of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) in the area.
Also, ACT cited more harassment of militant teacher organizations by the military, “with the Philippine Army’s Civil-Military Operations units conducting vilification seminars in public schools and campuses against legitimate teacher organizations such as the Alliance of Concerned Teachers."
In July-August, ACT said the Army occupied a privately-run school for lumads in Lianga, Surigao del Sur.
In September, a botched surveillance operation conducted by the Philippine Marines against National Artist and teacher-activist Bienvenido Lumbera was exposed to the public.
“We challenge all candidates running for office in next year’s elections to immediately address these issues and bring about democratic and progressive reforms in education," it said.
But the problems do not end there.
Poverty spawns more drop-outs, out-of-school youth
It claimed that the government’s inability to address poverty has spawned more drop-outs and out-of-school children throughout the decade.
In September, the Department of Education acknowledged that there are 5.6 million out of school children — some 2.2 million children between the ages of 6-12 and 3.4 million between the ages of 13-15.
The “pushcart classrooms" of CNN Hero Efren Penaflorida highlighted the government’s failure to provide formal education to a growing number of children, it said.
“This is one of the most worrying legacies of the current administration," ACT said.
ACT also lamented the Arroyo government’s substantial budget cuts in education in response to the global economic crisis this year.
It said the DepEd’s budget for maintenance and operations was cut by seven percent while the budget for capital outlay was cut by 15 percent. Further cuts have been imposed on next year’s budget as well.
“Reduced spending on education has been characteristic of the Arroyo administration for most of the decade," it said, noting the Congressional Budget and Planning Office pointed out that the average annual growth rate of the DepEd’s budget in real terms from 2001-2006 has contracted by 3.5 percent.
ACT added inadequate funding has resulted in the acute shortages of teachers, classrooms, and other resources that have plagued the public school system under President Arroyo’s watch.
Pay hike insufficient, group says
This year, the Arroyo government passed the so-called Salary Standardization Law 3, in response to a vigorous nationwide campaign by teachers and other government employees.
Under the law, annual increases are due in public sector pay over the next four years.
But lower and middle level government employees, including teachers, have criticized the law for providing insufficient salary hikes,
especially since the Arroyo administration imposed a freeze in public sector salaries from 2001 to 2006.
ACT also scored further woes on teachers and other government employees from the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), whose new computer system disrupted its daily operational requirements.
“This blunder is only the latest in a series of fiascoes that have plagued GSIS members throughout the decade. The GSIS management led by Winston Garcia has failed to address the fund’s long-standing problems of shoddy records management and poor collection. As a result,
teachers and other government employees have suffered from overdeductions and poor service for most of the decade, making GSIS the single most vilified government agency among the rank-and-file," ACT said. - GMANews.TV
This was emphasized by the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) in its latest year-end assessment posted at its Web site.
The group blamed the Philippine government for its “failure to secure conditions for peace and order in southern Mindanao together with the prevailing culture of impunity provide the context for the spate of kidnappings targeting teachers in 2009."
The group referred to a number of kidnapping cases this year whose victims were teachers, including a public school principal who was abducted and later beheaded by suspected Abu Sayyaf members.
After he was abducted, the severed head of Gabriel Canizares was later left at a gasoline station in Jolo, Sulu in November.
The national government “must step up [efforts] to ensure the safety and security of teachers, especially going into the May 2010 elections," the group added.
Human rights violations has not spared teachers
Moreover, ACT said the Arroyo government’s track record of human rights violations has not spared the education sector.
It said state forces have subjected teachers and teacher organizations to violence, harassment, and intimidation.
In January, young school teacher Rebelyn Pitao was murdered in Davao, bringing to 11 the number of teachers victimized by extra-judicial killings since 2001.
Pitao’s father is a commander of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) in the area.
Also, ACT cited more harassment of militant teacher organizations by the military, “with the Philippine Army’s Civil-Military Operations units conducting vilification seminars in public schools and campuses against legitimate teacher organizations such as the Alliance of Concerned Teachers."
In July-August, ACT said the Army occupied a privately-run school for lumads in Lianga, Surigao del Sur.
In September, a botched surveillance operation conducted by the Philippine Marines against National Artist and teacher-activist Bienvenido Lumbera was exposed to the public.
“We challenge all candidates running for office in next year’s elections to immediately address these issues and bring about democratic and progressive reforms in education," it said.
But the problems do not end there.
Poverty spawns more drop-outs, out-of-school youth
It claimed that the government’s inability to address poverty has spawned more drop-outs and out-of-school children throughout the decade.
In September, the Department of Education acknowledged that there are 5.6 million out of school children — some 2.2 million children between the ages of 6-12 and 3.4 million between the ages of 13-15.
The “pushcart classrooms" of CNN Hero Efren Penaflorida highlighted the government’s failure to provide formal education to a growing number of children, it said.
“This is one of the most worrying legacies of the current administration," ACT said.
ACT also lamented the Arroyo government’s substantial budget cuts in education in response to the global economic crisis this year.
It said the DepEd’s budget for maintenance and operations was cut by seven percent while the budget for capital outlay was cut by 15 percent. Further cuts have been imposed on next year’s budget as well.
“Reduced spending on education has been characteristic of the Arroyo administration for most of the decade," it said, noting the Congressional Budget and Planning Office pointed out that the average annual growth rate of the DepEd’s budget in real terms from 2001-2006 has contracted by 3.5 percent.
ACT added inadequate funding has resulted in the acute shortages of teachers, classrooms, and other resources that have plagued the public school system under President Arroyo’s watch.
Pay hike insufficient, group says
This year, the Arroyo government passed the so-called Salary Standardization Law 3, in response to a vigorous nationwide campaign by teachers and other government employees.
Under the law, annual increases are due in public sector pay over the next four years.
But lower and middle level government employees, including teachers, have criticized the law for providing insufficient salary hikes,
especially since the Arroyo administration imposed a freeze in public sector salaries from 2001 to 2006.
ACT also scored further woes on teachers and other government employees from the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), whose new computer system disrupted its daily operational requirements.
“This blunder is only the latest in a series of fiascoes that have plagued GSIS members throughout the decade. The GSIS management led by Winston Garcia has failed to address the fund’s long-standing problems of shoddy records management and poor collection. As a result,
teachers and other government employees have suffered from overdeductions and poor service for most of the decade, making GSIS the single most vilified government agency among the rank-and-file," ACT said. - GMANews.TV
