Education crisis dapat bigyang prayoridad

Iginiit ni House Deputy Minority Leader at ACT Teachers party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio ang kahalagahan na mabigyang prayoridad ng Malacañang at Kongreso ang pagtugon sa pangangailangan ng mga guro upang matugunan ang education crisis na hindi na maaaring isantabi.
Ginawa ni Tinio ang pahayag ilang araw bago ang ikalimang State of the Nation Address ni Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr., na susundan ng pagsusumite ng panukalang 2027 national budget.
Ayon sa mambabatas ang Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), kasama ang daan-daang guro sa pampubliko at pribadong paaralan, at mga propesor sa unibersidad ay pumunta sa Kamara de Representantes noong Mayo upang itulak sa mga mambabatas ang mga repormang kinakailangan para umangat ang antas ng edukasyon sa bansa.
Kasama sa kanilang hiningi ang P50,000 entry-level salary para sa mga guro sa pampublikong paaralan at ang dagdag na P5,000 sa Personnel Economic Relief Allowance (PERA).
Kanilang nakausap sina Speaker Faustino Dy, House Committee on Appropriations chairperson Mika Suansing, Basic Education chairperson Roman Romulo, Higher Education chairperson Jude Acidre, at House Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan.
“Teachers came here last May not just to advocate for their own welfare, but to demand that Congress fix a broken education system that is failing our children. Now, as the President prepares his SONA, he must address this crisis head-on. As we begin the budget deliberations, the commitments made during the lobbying must be translated into concrete allocations. The demands of our teachers must be at the forefront, not treated as an afterthought,” sabi ni Tinio.
Tinuligsa rin ng kongresista ang agarang pagpapatupad ng three-term school calendar, kakulangan ng textbooks sa mga pampublikong paaralan, at ang nabigong pangako ng ARAL Program.
Nanawagan din ang mambabatas ng agarang pagpasa ng Teachers Protection Bill, ang panukalang Magna Carta of Private School Teachers, ang New Magna Carta of Public School Teachers bill, at ang Lowering of Optional Retirement Age (LORA) bill ng mga empleyado ng gobyerno.
“The upcoming SONA and budget season are the ultimate tests of this administration’s political will. Two months have passed since our teachers trooped to Congress, and the crisis has only deepened. Teachers have spoken. Congress must listen and act—not with promises, but with concrete legislation and budget allocations that show teachers are valued,” dagdag pa ni Tinio.