📷ACT Teacher’s Partylist Rep. France Castro, principal author of Kabalikat sa Pagtuturo Act.
AFTER so much delay, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. finally signed a landmark law which effectively increased allowance for the supplies being shouldered by the public school teachers.
Witnessing the formal signing of the Kabalikat sa Pagtuturo Act were members of both chambers, including partylist Rep. France Castro in her capacity as the principal author of the law.
Interestingly, the much-awaited face-off between two protagonists in the Malacañang Palace did not happen as Vice President Sara Duterte in her capacity as concurrent Secretary for the Department of Education (DepEd) did not show-up for a momentous event that concerns her agency.
Even without Duterte, Marcos went on to sign the law which he described as an integral part of the Matatag curriculum as it allows teachers to focus on teaching without worrying about possibly reduced income.
“Today, thanks to the hard work of our legislators, we get to receive the much-needed assistance for the Matatag agenda, and the fourth component of that is to give support to teachers so they can concentrate on teaching,” Marcos said moments after affixing his signature on the ratified bill.
“I think we are all familiar with the situation where, when a teacher finds themselves in financial straits, they are sometimes distracted and spend their time trying to increase the support they can provide their families,” the President noted.
Castro, for her part, said that the Kabalikat sa Pagtuturo Act will ensure that teachers get an allowance to buy materials like chalk, paper, and other items that may be used for teaching purposes instead of resorting to out-of-pocket expenses.
“This is a long-overdue recognition of the crucial role our teachers play in shaping the minds of our future generations,” Castro said.
Prior to her “visit” to the Palace, Castro slammed what she aptly claimed was an unconstitutional transfer of P125 million by the Office of the President to the Office of Vice President for the “purpose of confidential intelligence fund.
Castro made the statement after Atty. Estelito Mendoza, Duterte’s legal counsel, filed a rejoinder seeking the dismissal of multiple petitions questioning the legality of the fund transfer.
The militant congresswoman gave a premium at how fast Duterte used up the entire fund – in just 11 days, adding that the case is “not just theoretical but has caused millions of pesos that should have been allotted to Filipinos who are in need.” the lady solon lamented.
“This illegal and unconstitutional transfer of P125 million to the Office of the Vice President for confidential funds violated all rules on the proper use of such funds,” Castro stressed
“It represents a massive redirection of public resources away from essential services and towards opaque purposes with no accountability. It is a glaring example of bureaucrat capitalism and should be stopped,” averred Castro who was among the petitioners in the Supreme Court questioning the constitutionality of the confidential funds given to Duterte’s office in late 2022.
Duterte asked SC to dismiss the petitions because none of the petitions presented an actual case or controversy nor alleged a legally demandable and enforceable right.
“The petitioners, including myself, Reps. Brosas and Manuel, former Reps. Zarate, Gaite, Cullamat, Palatino, and Bayan Muna Chairman Neri Colmenares, are seeking the restitution of these P125 million in public funds that were unlawfully used with no oversight,” Castro asserted. “We have asked the Supreme Court to direct COA to fully audit how this money was spent.”
Castro also stressed that under the 2022 national budget, no confidential funds were allocated to civilian agencies like the Office of the Vice President. (ANGEL F. JOSE / TCSP)
