Given the “dire state” of Philippine education, a group of education workers denounced the reported P20 million budget for President Marcos’ upcoming State of the Nation Address (SONA) as well as the administration’s “dismal performance” in reversing the downward spiral of education.

“This lavish expenditure is a slap in the face to the majority of our people living in poverty,” Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Chairperson Vladimer Quetua said. "How can the Marcos Jr. administration justify spending P20 million on a single speech when millions of Filipino families struggle to put food on the table?” he added.

President Marcos is set to deliver his third SONA on July 22.

New school year, same problems

As the new school year approaches, ACT said the education sector “continues to grapple” with longstanding issues of shortages in classrooms, teachers, education support personnel, learning materials, and facilities.

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"Instead of allocating funds to address these critical gaps in our education system, the government chooses to splurge on a one-day event,” Quetua said. “This misplaced priority is emblematic of an administration out of touch with the needs of ordinary Filipinos,” he added.

ACT stressed that the Filipino people are eager to hear concrete plans to improve the lives of teachers and students in the upcoming SONA.

"We demand to hear about substantial salary increases for teachers, a commitment to double the education budget, and the scrapping of wasteful confidential and intelligence funds,” Quetua said. “These are the real issues that impact the quality of education and the lives of our youth,” he added.

ACT then called on the government to “redirect” the SONA budget towards urgent educational needs.

"Every peso spent on this extravagant SONA is a peso taken away from our students and teachers,” Quetua said. “We challenge President Marcos Jr. to demonstrate true leadership by prioritizing education over pageantry,” he added.

‘Critically unsatisfactory’ mark

Meanwhile, ACT gave a “critically unsatisfactory” verdict on Marcos and Vice President Sara Duterte's dismal performance in reversing the downward spiral of education over their two years in power.

Teachers and education workers highlighted the administration's “negligence” in enhancing both access to and quality of education.

They also criticized the persistence of a flawed and misaligned educational orientation that hinders national development and the neglect of teachers' and education workers' economic welfare.

Quetua said in the first year of the Marcos-Duterte administration, the mark given by teachers and staff in the education sector “needs immediate remediation.”

In the second SONA, Quetua said their “neglect of education continued” --- resulting in no improvement in access and quality.

“The government's critically unsatisfactory performance falls far short of what our teachers, education workers, and the Filipino people deserve,” Quetua said.

“The administration's lofty promises of a 'Bagong Pilipinas' ring hollow without swift and tangible steps to reverse the deteriorating state of education and address the mounting socio-economic challenges faced by teachers and education workers,” he added.

Members of ACT will join other sectors in a protest march coinciding with President Marcos’ third SONA Address to “challenge the empty promises” of “Bagong Pilipinas” and amplify calls for substantial salary increases, higher budget for education, and the protection and promotion of democratic rights.

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