Citing their “most exemplary track record” among all presidential and vice-presidential candidates in responding to the needs of education, a group of teachers and education workers expressed its support to Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo for president and Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan for vice president.
The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines, which claims to be the biggest non-traditional alliance of organizations, unions, and federations of teachers and education support personnel nationwide, has formally endorsed Team Leni-Kiko in a statement issued Sunday, Feb. 27.
“While the pandemic ravaged the education sector, Team Leni-Kiko’s heart for education has shone,” ACT Philippines said.
Robredo and Pangilinan, the group said, also present the “most substantive, concrete, and viable platform for education, as well as for tackling the current health and economic crisis and upholding peace, democracy, and human rights.”
For ACT Philippines, Team Leni-Kiko will push forward a “common agenda that will address the grave crisis that currently besets the Philippine education system.”
ACT said that the upcoming change in national leadership through the 2022 elections presents hope and opportunity for the education sector to “squarely tackle its dire situation.”
The support for Team Leni-Kiko, ACT said, is grounded on common stands and platforms for education that it will pursue towards 2022 elections and beyond which include:
- increase the education budget to the equivalent of six percent (6%) of the gross domestic product to fulfill the right of every Filipino to free and quality education;
- safely reopen schools nationwide, provide the needs of blended learning, and grant aid to retrenched education workers and small private schools;
- review the K to 12 program; strengthen the teaching of Philippine history, Filipino, and other local languages, gender, environment, and human rights; invest in research and development; and ensure inclusive education for excluded groups;
- grant substantial salary increase to teachers and education support personnel, improve their benefits and social protection, promote professional development, and safeguard the security of tenure; and
- uphold academic freedoms for all education institutions and union rights of education workers.
“These reforms can only be realized through the election of a pro-education administration that sincerely partakes in dialogues and collaborates with education stakeholders,” ACT said.