A group of education workers on Friday, Nov. 12, challenged presidentiables and other candidates in the 2022 national and local elections to include in their platforms issues concerning teachers and the education sector as a whole.

During a virtual press briefing, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines highlighted five major agendas of their sector which include salary, education, health, jobs, and democratic rights.

“We are calling on all those who wish to be elected in office to include in their top platform the cause of teachers and the education sector,” ACT Secretary General Raymond Basilio said.

The group—with its vast membership from public and private basic to higher education institutions— alleged that the Duterte administration has “abandoned” the teachers and the education sector in the last five years.

“With the elections coming up, we intend to use our power as citizens to elect those who will take on our most pressing demands,” Basilio stressed.

Several ACT leaders from its unions and organizations also detailed their specific calls which they expect candidates to speak up on in the coming days.

One of the main calls they registered is the salary upgrading of education workers, specifically the upgrading to salary grade 15 of Teacher 1, to salary grade 16 of Instructor 1, and the raising to P16,000 of salary grade 1 education support personnel.

ACT also called for the provision of ample benefits to public school teachers and education support personnel.

“We are all aware of how President Duterte betrayed teachers by never fulfilling his promise to double their salaries, then attacked those who dared to hold him accountable,” Basilio said.

“Such is the legacy of this administration, and many candidates are already announcing their intent to continue more of the same,” he lamented.

The leaders of ACT said they will not let this happen again. We” demand change, we demand promises to be fulfilled and the education sector to finally receive due prioritization and sufficient support from the government,” Basilio said.

In the coming weeks, ACT is expected to troop to the offices of those running for President—specifically Vice President Leni Robredo, Senator Manny Pacquiao, and Mayor Isko Moreno—to submit their demands and hold a dialogue.

“We are preparing to submit teachers’ and the education sector’s agenda to our Presidentiables in the coming weeks,” Basilio said.

“We’ve written to them, and called on them to meet with us to discuss the state of our sector and to hopefully get their support,” he added.

Aside from benefits for teachers, ACT also highlighted their demands for safe school re-opening, accessible quality education, ample medical responses to the pandemic, an end to contractualization especially in private schools, and academic freedom.