Vice President Leni Robredo on Sunday urged the Department of Education (DepEd) to make the most out of the time to address the teachers’ needs since the school opening has been moved to October 5.

“Tutal October pa naman iyong opening, mayroon pang oras. Pero sana hindi na masayang (Now the opening will be on October, we have more time. I hope it won’t be wasted),” she said on her weekly radio show.

“Sana pagdating ng October iyong pinaka-maliit, pinaka-malayo, pinaka-mahirap na paaralan ready na (I hope by October, the smallest, farthest, and poorest school will be ready),” Robredo added.

The vice president is grateful to the DepEd over the postponement of the opening of classes for school year 2020-2021 to a later date.

“Mabuti naman at nakinig (It is good the DepEd listened),” she said. “Ang pinaka-problema kasi nito, maraming mga schools, lalo na iyong mga dito sa Manila, ready na. Pero mas marami iyong hindi pa (The problem is many schools, especially here in Manila, are ready. But more schools aren’t).”

Robredo recalled the concerns that her office had received from teachers, among which are the printing and distribution of learning modules and readiness for distance learning.

The lady official reiterated the DepEd should effectively communicate to teachers to solve these issues. These also include their health protection from the coronavirus disease.

“Kung totoo na inaasikaso na, sana ma-communicate nang maayos sa teachers kasi mahalaga na alam nila na susulong sila sa giyerang handa. (If it is really true they are being taken care of, I hope it will be communicated properly to the teachers because it is important that they know they are ready for the battle),” she said.

Last week, Robredo sent a letter to Education Secretary Leonor Briones that contained her proposals on how to address the concerns of teachers.

She suggested the realignment of the DepEd’s P29-billion budget for rehabilitation of school buildings to buy gadgets and other equipment for distance learning as well as hazard pay and conduct of COVID-19 testing and physical check-ups for teachers.