Marikina City 2nd Rep. Stella Quimbo (left), Vice President Sara Duterte (MANILA BULLETIN, Facebook)

Marikina City 2nd district Rep. Stella Quimbo relayed to Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday afternoon, Aug. 30 the "good feedback" that teachers have on the Department of Education's (DepEd) contentious classroom decluttering policy. 

Quimbo is the senior vice chairperson of the House Committee on Appropriations, which on Wednesday scrutinized DepEd's proposed P758.59-billion budget under the 2024 National Expenditure Program (NEP). Duterte is the concurrent DepEd chief. 

"First of all I'd like to congratulate our good secretary for the reforms that you have so far introduced. They seem to be simple reforms but I believe they are potentially impactful. Ako po bago naging congressman, naging teacher po ako for 26 years (Before I became a congressman, I was a teacher for 26 years)," Quimbo said. 

"Yun pong pagtanggal ng wall decor. Ang feedback mula sa aming mga guro ay, well they're very happy kasi I didn't realize until recently na ang gumagastos pala doon ay mga teachers," the Marikina lawmaker said. 

(Regarding the removal of wall decor. The feedback from our teachers is that, well they're very happy because I didn't realize until recently that teachers were the ones paying for the decors). 

"So well again, so kudos on that, Of course, bukod po doon sa nakakafocus po talaga yung mga bata pag kapag wala talagang decor sa classroom," Quimbo added. 

(Of course, this is aside from the fact that the kids can really focus in their classrooms of there are no decorations.) 

DepEd Order 21, signed by Duterte, states that schools “shall ensure that school grounds, classrooms and all its walls, and other school facilities are clean and free from unnecessary artwork, decorations, tarpaulin, and posters at all times" 

DepEd Undersecretary Michael Wesley Poa said during the budget hearing that the main purpose of the policy was to promote cleanliness in classrooms and rid it of distractions for school children. 

Poa added that while the agency is sticking to this policy direction, it would still welcome feedback. 

He acknowledged that there's both supporting and dissenting research on the policy. He did clarify that teacher may still bring and use their visual aids to their classes.