Teachers threaten to go on mass leave over pay

MANILA, Philippines - Public school teachers yesterday warned they might go on mass leave come school opening on June 2 if their demand for salary increase is not met.

Members of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) trooped yesterday to the office of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) in Manila to protest what they described as the government’s inaction on the plight of teachers.

“We are appalled with the pronouncements of DBM Secretary Butch Abad and President Aquino that the increases in our salary will cause budget deficit for the government while millions of funds were just used for anomalous and corrupt projects,” ACT president Benjie Valbuena said in a statement.

The group also denounced Abad’s alleged involvement in the multibillion-peso pork barrel scam.

“It further angers us to know that the DBM secretary himself is involved and is one of the beneficiaries of such projects,” Valbuena said.

The Department of Education (DepEd) said it will not object to any measure that will help public school teachers.

“As long as there is adequate funding, a raise in teachers’ salaries will be welcome. We also recognize the right of our teachers to raise their concerns publicly,” the DepEd said.

“However, we enjoin these groups not to take any action that will unduly affect the delivery of basic services to our learners. Let us draw the line at abandoning our children. As educators and civil servants, let us always keep the interest of our learners in mind,” it added.

Brigada Eskwela

Meanwhile, DepEd’s Brigada Eskwela, the agency’s annual school maintenance week, kicked off yesterday in various schools nationwide.

Education Secretary Armin Luistro, who led the opening of Brigada Eskwela in Leyte, urged the public to help make schools clean and disaster-resilient.

Luistro was in Leyte to attend the turnover of new classrooms rehabilitated by the Korean Army.

In cooperation with the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Republic of Korea Army-Araw Contingent rehabilitated 91 classrooms in 10 schools in the municipalities of Palo, Tanauan and Tolosa, some of the areas hit hardest by Super Typhoon Yolanda last year.

The Korean Army also restored the National Educators Academy of the Philippines-Regional Educational Learning Center facility in Eastern Visayas– With Evelyn Macairan