Union demands greet DepEd chief

Union members demanding more benefits greeted new Education Secretary Edilberto de Jesus when he reported for his first day of work at the Department of Education (DepEd) in Pasig yesterday.

De Jesus met with officers of the DepEd Employees Union, who asked him to reinstate their service fee, release their cost-of-living allowance, and open their collective bargaining.

Domingo Alidon, president of the DepEd Employees Union, said they were not satisfied with the response of De Jesus to their demands.

"He did not say much," he said. "We don’t know what’s on his mind. We are worried we might not get anything from him."

De Jesus went straight to the DepEd to take part in the weekly flag-raising ceremony after being sworn into office by Executive Secretary Alberto Romulo at Malacañang.

De Jesus refused to tell reporters what his plans are for the DepEd.

"What can I say?" he said. "I’ve been here for only three hours and I still have to familiarize myself with DepEd."

Earlier, the former president of Far Eastern University said there was a need to improve the basic public education system in the country.

"As a president of a university that accepts students from public schools, (I observed) that many of them graduate from high school but are not prepared for college," he said.

De Jesus replaced Secretary Raul Roco who resigned last Aug. 13 after President Arroyo failed to inform him that she had ordered an investigation of a graft complaint filed against him by the DepEd union.