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Teachers to Sara Duterte: Don’t pretend you’re not part of education woes

Teachers to Sara Duterte: Don’t pretend you’re not part of education woes

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Teacher Stanley Butalid checks on the module of his grade two learner whose guardian could not teach because she did not go to school. PHOTO BY DIVINA M. SUSON
Teacher Stanley Butalid checks on the module of his grade two learner whose guardian could not teach because she did not go to school. —Photo by DIVINA M. SUSON



MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte promised to solve the country’s education crisis on the condition that she would receive P100 billion for the Department of Education (DepEd) during her tenure there, but instead, issues only swirled about alleged irregularities, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) said on Tuesday.

ACT Chair Vladimer Quetua hit back at the former education secretary's complaint about the country’s situation on education, saying that the Philippines was lagging behind other countries in terms of modernizing education.

“Sara Duterte promised to solve all the problems of basic education if Congress granted her P100 billion,” Quetua said in a statement.

“Instead, the Commission on Audit exposed DepEd under her leadership for billions worth of disallowances, suspensions, unliquidated cash advances, delayed or non-implementation of programs, and glaring procurement irregularities,” he added.

He was citing the time when state auditors flagged the DepEd, under Duterte’s leadership, for its unresolved financial transactions amounting to P12.3 billion.

It was also under Duterte when COA raised the red flag over classroom constructions, wherein only 3 percent, or 192 of the 6,379 target classrooms, were built.

Duterte resigned from the DepEd last year amid her bitter falling out with President Marcos, her close political ally-turned-adversary.

“She (Duterte) has no moral standing to lecture anyone about the state of education,” Quetua said.

“For her to pretend she is not part of the problem is a grave insult to Filipino teachers, learners, and parents who bear the brunt of government neglect,” he added. /apl

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AFP-JIJI PRESS NEWS JOURNAL


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