Group hits reported appointment of Arroyo ally at DepEd

MANILA, Philippines - A militant teachers' group on Thursday scored the reported plan to place defeated administration senatorial bet Teresa Aquino Oreta as secretary of the Department of Education vice incumbent Sec. Jesli Lapus. In a statement, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) denounced the "shameless politicization of the Department of Education," stressing the impending move smacks of political payback for allies of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. The planned revamp would come around the same period as the expiration of the one-year ban to appoint losing candidates to government posts. Oreta was an administration senatorial candidate who run but lost in the May 2007 midterm elections. Until the May 2007 elections, Oreta was identified with the camp of former President Joseph Estrada. But Lapus remained confident he would not be affected by the Cabinet revamp this month. "Would you replace the number one public approval rated agency head?" Lapus said when asked for comment on the issue. High approval rating Lapus was referring to a Pulse Asia survey released in March recognizing the DepEd as one of the top performing agencies in government. Lapus expressed confidence that President Arroyo would not overlook the various accomplishments during his term, including among others: the marked increase in school enrollment, reduction in the prices of books, and the procurement of additional funds for additional classrooms. Still, ACT chair Antonio Tinio said that the accomplishments reaped during one's tenure in government could be the last thing that Mrs Arroyo would consider during the reshuffle. Tinio added that Mrs Arroyo's previous appointments in the Education department would show that the President was merely returning the favor to government officials who had tossed up support for her. Since Mrs Arroyo assumed office in 2001, she has already appointed four people to head the Education department. "Unfortunately, political payback to the varied personalities and blocs under Malacanang's wing has been the main consideration in these appointments, rather than the best interest of the basic education sector," Tinio said. Union support for Lapus Tinio added that the consecutive revamp in the DepEd leadership has resulted to a lack of continuity in the agency's programs, supposedly hampering the main objectives of education reform in the Philippines. For its part, the National Employees Union (NEU) said Lapus was a victim of "political accommodation" at the expense of the education sector. NEU president Domingo Alidon said they would continue to give their support for Lapus, also noting the innovations and goals achieved during the latter's leadership. According to Lapus, under his watch they were able to record some 20 million enrollment last year in pre-school, primary, and secondary schools. There was also a four percent decrease in the incidence of malnutrition among pre-school and elementary pupils due to the help of the DepEd's Food for School Program. This resulted to an improved school attendance from 90 percent in 2006 to 95 percent in 2007, Lapus noted. Compared to the annual 6,000-classroom target of the DepEd, almost 15,000 classrooms were constructed in 2007 while nearly 11,000 other were repaired. "In view of these accomplishments, DepEd has received a record positive 61 percent approval rating from Pulse Asia surveys. DepEd is now recognized as one of the top performing departments of the government," Lapus said. Add to these feats, Lapus said they have also earmarked P1 million pesos for each of the 17 Regional Science High schools for their maintenance and operating expenses. This, aside from the additional P2,000 worth of allowance for students enrolled in science high schools. - GMANews.TV