DepEd leadership change could affect preparations for May polls, teachers say

MANILA, Philippines - The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) said yesterday that the replacement of Education Secretary Jesli Lapus with presidential assistant on education Mona Valisno could disrupt the preparations of public school teachers who will be serving in the country’s first automated elections this May.

Antonio Tinio, ACT national chairperson, expressed serious concern over the top leadership change at DepEd, branding it as unnecessary and questionable.

“The appointment of a new Secretary of Education at this time will disrupt the DepEd’s preparation for the national elections,” Tinio said. “Teachers will play a key role in the implementation of poll automation, and we can ill afford to have a new person at the helm who still has to learn the ropes,” Tinio added.

ACT has a partylist group, ACT Teachers party list, that will seek to have a seat in the House of Representatives under the party list system in the coming elections.

Benjamin Basas, national president of the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC), a federation of public school teachers’ associations all over the country, reiterated their position that, like ACT, found a lack of necessity to replace Lapus.

“Another thing is the motive behind such a rigodon. There are only two months before the elections and three months before their term expires, yet GMA (President Arroyo) suddenly reshuffled the Cabinet. There must be a reason,” Basas surmised.