Teachers’ group slams P20 million budget for SONA

MANILA, Philippines — Teachers’ group Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) slammed the reported P20-million budget for President Marcos’ third State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday.

In a statement yesterday, the ACT said that spending P20 million for a single day event is an “unconscionable extravagance,” given the “dire state of Philippine education and widespread poverty.”

“How can the Marcos Jr. administration justify spending P20 million on a single speech when millions of Filipino families struggle to put food on the table? This lavish expenditure is a slap in the face to the majority of our people living in poverty,” ACT chairman Vladimer Quetua said.

Quetua lamented the “one-day event splurge,” stating the education sector continues to struggle with the perennial shortages in classrooms, teachers, education support personnel, learning materials and facilities.

“This misplaced priority is emblematic of an administration out of touch with the needs of ordinary Filipinos,” Quetua said.

The ACT urged the administration to redirect a portion of the SONA budget to “urgent educational needs.”

Quetua added that more than the “pageantry,” what the education sector wants to hear during the SONA are concrete plans to improve the lives of teachers and students.

“We demand to hear about substantial salary increases for teachers, a commitment to double the education budget and the scrapping of wasteful confidential and intelligence funds,” Quetua declared.

House secretary-general Reginald Velasco had earlier confirmed to the media that some P20 million has been allotted for the “preparation and execution” of this year’s SONA.

Velasco said the SONA on Monday would be the biggest so far in terms of seats – over 2,000, including 1,814 total seats at the plenary.

Some function rooms were also assigned as viewing rooms for those who could not be accommodated in the plenary hall.

The key component of SONA, Velasco said, is the food and beverages, covering the meals for all personnel involved, including internal staff and external personnel, as well as other support staff.

Velasco added that the P20-million budget is not only for the actual day of the SONA but also for all preparatory activities leading to the event.

“I want to assure the public that we are committed to transparency and responsibility in spending public funds,” Velasco said.

Labor issues

Meanwhile, House labor and employment committee chair and Rizal Rep. Fidel Nograles said he is expecting the President to tackle labor issues in his SONA.

“Labor is a major sector and one that concerns every Filipino, so I expect that we will hear about his plans to address various issues on Monday,” he noted.

Nograles expressed “grave concern” that the Philippines ranked 59th among 60 countries analyzed in the Global Life-Work Balance Index report of global human resource services firm Remote. — Sheila Crisostomo