The Alliance of Concerned Teachers-Philippines has criticized the Department of Education’s (DepEd) continuous red-tagging of progressive teachers for the fourth consecutive day this week instead of addressing their grievances in the teachers’ sector.
The ACT reported this in the continued association of Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio, who also stands as Education secretary, with them to the communist rebels amid their call to hire an additional 30,000 teachers in public schools and the P100 billion annual budget for classrooms.
“Sara Duterte’s performance this week: Red-tagging- 4, Educ problems addressed- 0,” the group posted on Facebook.
Other than the vice president linking ACT Teachers to the New People’s Army and the Communist Party of the Philippines, the vice president pressed the group for their alleged silence in the NPA’s attack on six towns in Masbate that affected 55,199 students and 2,815 school personnel.
“Moreover, past DepEd secretaries didn’t engage in daily redtagging spree against progressive educators. Some of them even warmly appreciate progressive teachers’ inputs and at times critical yet constructive perspectives,” added David Michael San Juan earlier, one of the nominees of the ACT Teachers party-list in 2022.
Group lambasts red-tagging in DepEd
It was only Monday when Duterte said that ACT’s demands for hiring teachers and additional budget were “unrealistic” and “impossible.” She said it was only designed to “counter the solution of the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.” in the education sector.
However, it is said that they are not blind to the mega problem, especially since DepEd plans to hire more teaching and non-teaching staff this 2023.
“For 12 years, ACT Teachers has been claiming to represent teachers in Congress. Yet our public school personnel continue to face financial woes and we have a generation of learners that are facing several challenges,” said Duterte-Carpio.
“What has this self-proclaimed education sector representative done to remedy the problems we are facing now?”
“And for 12 years now, ACT Teachers cannot even publicly and explicitly condemn the violence perpetrated by the terrorist group NPA against our learners, our teachers, and other school personnel.”
In the end, the ACT Teachers party-list maintains that they are the true voice of teachers in the Chamber, while Duterte remains a false leader.
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