ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro called on the government to grant the full P20,000 service recognition incentive (SRI) to all public school teachers. 

President Marcos recently signed Administrative Order (AO) No.

12, which authorizes the grant of a one-time SRI of up to P20,000 for government employees for 2023. 

The incentive sought to reward an employee's loyalty to government service and their contributions to the agency's continuing viable existence. 

"Sana naman ay buong P20,000 ang ibigay sa lahat ng ating mga guro na nagpapakahirap may pasok man ang mga bata o wala. Lalo pa ang mga estudyante nila ay umaabot sa 50 [to] 60 kada klase at napakalayo sa 35 na mag-aaral lang sana sa mga klase," Castro said in a statement on Tuesday, Dec. 12. 

(I hope that the full P20,000 will be given to all our teachers who are struggling whether children are in schools or not. Especially when the number of students reach 50 [to] 60 per class and are far from the 35 students that should only be in class.) 

“Ang nakakalungkot pa ay ang Department of Education (DepEd) pa mismo ang tumututol para mabigyan man lang [ng] dagdag na kumpensasyon ang mga guro na lagpas-lagpas sa ideal ang tinuturuang mag-aaral,” the teacher-solon added. 

(What's even sadder is that the [DepEd] itself is objecting to at least give extra compensation to teachers who teach students beyond the ideal number.) 

During a hearing on Monday at the House of Representatives, the DepEd opposed the proposed measure that would include provisions for additional honorarium for public school teachers handling classes with more students. 

"Ginagawa parang alipin ng DepEd ang mga guro at di man lang bigyan ng sapat na kumpensasyon o signipikanteng dagdag sahod pero ang gusto ay todo kayod ang mga guro,” Castro said. 

(DepEd treats teachers like slaves and doesn't even give them adequate compensation or a significant salary increase but they want teachers to exert all efforts.) 

“Kaya naman din hindi malutas ang learning crisis sa bansa ay dahil binabarat ang sistema ng edukasyon at mga guro," the House deputy minority leader noted. 

(That is also why the learning crisis in the country cannot be solved because the education system and teachers are being burdened.) 

"Kaya sana naman ay ibigay ang buong P20,000 sa mga guro at kawani bago mag-Pasko para kahit papaano ay may pandagdag gastos sila at kanilang pamilya," she added. 

(That's why I hope they will give the full P20,000 to the teachers and staff before Christmas so that they and their families can somehow have additional money for their expenses.) --Dexter Barro II