President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday greeted the country’s educators as the country observed World Teacher’s Day.
“Happy World Teacher’s Day to our educators, to whom our nation owes an immeasurable debt,” the President said in a Facebook post.
Mr. Marcos vowed to secure the welfare of teachers and their families in recognition of their sacrifices in teaching the younger generation.
In an earlier statement, Mr. Marcos assured teachers that the government will continue to address the challenges that the education sector is facing.
On Sunday, President Marcos and Vice President Sara Duterte led the”Konsyerto sa Palasyo” in Malacañang to honor teachers across the country.
World Teacher’s Day is marked yearly on Oct. 5 to recognize teachers and educators worldwide as established by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) and the International Labour Organization in 1994.
On the occasion, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said he would file an update of the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers (Republic Act No. 4670).
“It has been 57 years since the law was passed, yet some of its provisions have not been fully realized,” Gatchalian said.
Among the new provisions that Gatchalian will introduce is the grant of a special hardship allowance to mobile teachers, including Alternative Learning System (ALS) teachers. Gatchalian also seeks to protect teachers from out-of-pocket expenses and non-teaching tasks.
There are also provisions for teachers’ basic rights and longevity pay.
Gatchalian, who chairs the Senate committee on basic education, emphasized the need to ensure full implementation of the law aimed at improving the living and working conditions of public school teachers.
He said the provisions in the current Magna Carta for teachers that are not followed are Sections 22, 26, and 31.
Section 22 entitles public school teachers to a free annual physical examination.
While the Department of Education (DepEd) has provided some monetary medical assistance since 2019, there is still no program for the annual check-up of teachers as mandated by the Magna Carta.
Another concern is Section 26 of the law, which stipulates that a retiring teacher should be promoted one rank higher, and the salary of that rank should be the basis for calculating retirement benefits.
However, the current method of computation used by the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) relies on the average monthly compensation that the employee received during the last 36 months of service prior to retirement.
Furthermore, Gatchalian said that while Section 31 of the Magna Carta requires the DepEd secretary to submit the annual budgetary requirements to implement the Magna Carta, the agency only submits an omnibus budget request to Congress for its annual needs.
Senator Francis Escudero said he will be an ally of teachers in advancing the country’s educational system to produce students who are at par with their overseas counterparts.
Escudero, who chairs the Senate committee on higher, technical, and vocational education joined the global community in paying tribute to the millions of teachers around the world on World Teachers’ Day.
“We salute our teachers for their selfless service to the country and for their commitment to impart knowledge to our students,” Escudero said.
On the same occasion, Vice President Sara Duterte, who also serves as Education Secretary, told teachers not to hurt learners as it is “haram” (forbidden) to do so after a teacher in Peñafrancia Elementary School in Antipolo City allegedly slapped a Grade 5 student who died after 11 days.
In her message during the culmination program of the World Teachers’ Day held at the Fr. Saturnino Urios University – Morelos Campus in Butuan City, Duterte said children, who are being entrusted to teachers, should not be hurt physically, sexually, or verbally.
“You should not hurt the children. There is a word from our Muslim brothers and sisters – ‘haram’ to hurt the children whether it be physical, sexual, or verbal abuse. You don’t do that to children, especially to those that are entrusted to your care, fully by the community, by their families,” she said.
Teachers, Duterte said, are supposed to mold learners into the best citizens that the country could have.
The parents of Francis Jay Gumikib, 14, alleged that the teacher pulled their son’s hair and slapped him after he reported his noisy classmates on Sept. 20.
When taken to the hospital on Sept. 26, Francis’ doctor found internal bleeding in his brain and he eventually died on Oct. 2.
Duterte said they had seen Francis’ medical certificate, which stated brain edema as the cause of his death.
“The autopsy is ongoing there in the Philippine National Police and we are waiting for the results,” she said.
The Department of Education 4A (Calabarzon) has issued an order directing a fact-finding team to probe the incident.