ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro (Facebook)

House Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro is calling for the abolition of the government’s performance-based incentive system, which has had a “dehumanizing” toll on teachers.

Castro issued this statement following President Marcos’ order to streamline the government's Results-Based Performance Management System (RBPMS) and Performance-Based Incentive System (PBIS).

Under Executive Order (EO) No.61, Marcos sought a review to align and harmonize both systems with ease of doing business initiatives.

"We suppprt the review of these bureaucratic performance management systems that have only burdened our teachers with more paperwork instead of improving their well-being and quality of instruction," Castro said in a statement.

"However, we maintain that the RPMS for teachers should be abolished entirely, not just suspended as well as other systems that are abusive of government workers,” she continued.

The Makabayan bloc lawmaker says the RPMS is “fundamentally flawed” as it imposes “unreasonable demands” on teachers who are already overworked and underpaid.

According to Castro, this incentive system requires public school teachers to submit extensive documentation in the form of lesson plans, instructional materials, and portfolios to evaluate their performance based on standards set by orders from the Department of Education (DepEd).  

However, many teachers decry the additional workload because it is another burden on top of their already daunting tasks, she said.

"Our teachers have long complained about the heavy documentation requirements, unrealistic targets, and discriminatory performance-based bonuses under this system. It is high time we listen to their grievances and dismantle these oppressive policies," the solon stressed.

In the House of Representatives, Castro previously filed House Resolution (HR) No. 64, which called for a comprehensive report on the implementation of the RPMS and performance-based bonus policies imposed on teachers.

She further underscored that instead of pursuing these “dehumanizing” metrics for teachers, the government should focus on providing them with decent and liveable salaries.

Castro is advocating for a P50,000 entry level pay for teachers, alongside better learning environments for students and sufficient operational funding for public schools.

At the same time, she is also calling for the abolition of the Strategic Performance Management System (SPMS).