Unpaid teachers who conducted national census seek dialogue with DepEd

(Updated 2:33 p.m.) After being chased by dogs and suspected of being burglars, teachers who conducted the Philippines’ recently-conducted census have yet to receive their honoraria. The pay delay has prompted them to seek a dialogue with their boss, Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Mona Valisno, a radio report on Thursday said. The Action and Solidarity for the Empowerment of Teachers (ASSERT) want Valisno to give a definite date as to when their members can receive compensation, Radio dzBB reported on Thursday. The group claimed that each teacher who helped conduct the census, which ended last June 11, should get P11,500, the report said. However, it appears that the teachers may be barking up the wrong tree. Teachers who participated in the last census should bring up their concern to the National Statistics Office (NSO), since it was the agency that contracted them for the census and are likewise responsible for releasing their compensation, the DepEd told GMANews.TV. But at the same time, DepEd spokesman and Assistant Secretary Jonathan Malaya assured that Secretary Mona Valisno would be "willing to assist them given the limited time [that she has remaining]." De La Salle University president Armin Luistro, who accepted President-elect Benigno Aquino III's invitation for him to join the new administration, is set to take over the DepEd leadership. "We can advocate for their concerns. We will be happy to help them," Malaya added. He assured the complaining teachers could have an audience with DepEd officials in the next few days. He reminded the teachers to bring documentary requirements to prove that their pay had indeed not yet arrived, saying several reports of delayed payments happened only in a "case-to-case basis" Last May, the National Statistics Office (NSO) admitted that teachers who took part in the data-gathering faced several dangers, such as dog attacks, and the humiliation of being suspected burglars. "Dito sa urban areas mahirap, security-conscious ang mga tao. Kung may kumakatok di sila basta-basta humaharap. In that sense napakahirap mag-census lalo sa Kamaynilaan," NSO administrator Carmencita Ericta had said in an interview on dzXL radio. (It is difficult to conduct the census in urban areas because people are concerned about security. When census workers knock on their doors, people take time to meet them. In that sense it is hard to conduct the census in Metro Manila) [See: NSO: Security-conscious attitude, dog attacks hamper census] Teachers in Valenzuela City who took part in the census complained they were met with reluctance and even suspicion by some residents. In some subdivisions, they said it took them several days to secure permission to enter the gates. The 2010 census aims to verify the NSO population estimate of 92 million Filipinos based on the 2.04 percent growth rate in 2007. The activity is expected obtain a complete count of population, demographic characteristics (population density, ethnicity, education level, health, economic status), and geographic distribution. Also, it will study housing units or living quarters, their structural characteristics, available facilities and their geographic distribution, and other household and barangay characteristics. - LBG, RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV