📷Alliance of Concerned Teachers-Philippines | FB
The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines staged a picket protest on Thursday, March 6, in front of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), demanding immediate action on the delayed implementation of the second tranche of salary increases under Executive Order No. 64, s. 2024. ACT also called for clear, fair, and pro-teacher policies on the revised Performance Management and Evaluation System (PMES) and the allocation of funds for Collective Negotiation Agreement (CNA) incentives in the national budget.
“Teachers and public sector employees are not only receiving meager salary increases, but these are also delayed. The administration seems indifferent to the crisis that ordinary employees are enduring, showing no sense of urgency in implementing wage hikes. While the increase remains far from a decent and livable level, teachers and government employees rely on these small increments as a lifeline amid skyrocketing prices of goods, rising electricity and water rates, and tax deductions. The anticipated salary hike must not only be granted immediately but should also be raised to a level sufficient for a decent standard of living,”
On the issue of the revised PMES, teachers expressed concerns about the demanding and unfair evaluation metrics that fail to consider the complex realities of classroom teaching.
“We demand that any evaluation system must be developed with genuine teacher participation, be sensitive to the actual conditions in schools, and focus on professional development over mere compliance measures. DepEd and other relevant agencies must hold extensive democratic consultation among public sector teachers and employees to gather insights and demands in regards to performance evaluation and incentive systems, and ensure public sector unions representation in all meetings and mechanisms that aim to craft alternative performance evaluation and incentive schemes,” Quetua stressed.
ACT also emphasized the importance of securing budget allocations for CNA incentives, which are rightfully earned benefits resulting from collective negotiations between government agencies and employee unions.
Following the protest program, ACT leaders sought a dialogue with DBM officials to discuss these pressing concerns in detail.
“We came prepared not just to air our grievances but to engage in substantive dialogue. We have concrete proposals and we want to work collaboratively with the DBM to address these issues,” Quetua ended.#
