Carrying their artistic placards designed into heart emojis, members of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines protested outside the Department of Education’s (DepEd) Central Office to air their “hearts’ desires’” in time for the celebration of Valentine’s Day on Tuesday, Feb. 14.

(Photo courtesy of Alliance of Concerned Teachers)

In a press statement, ACT said the placards they brought represent the “broken” promises of the administration: from “failed” salary increase to “delayed” benefits.

“The price of bread went up yesterday, there is a looming increase in LRT fees, and the government was not able to control the rising inflation. What we need is a substantial salary increase,” said ACT NCR Union President Ruby Bernado in Filipino.

Among things that must be prioritized, according to Bernado, is the payment of the 77 days of overtime in School Year 2021-2022. ACT previously called on DepEd to recompense all teachers for at least one week of extended work, claiming that they were “required” to work from June 27 to July 1 when the last day of school year was June 24.

“Our teachers never waiver on duties for the sake of our learners, but it is only right for services rendered to be compensated accordingly,” Bernardo furthered.

Not only did they demand compensation, the educators’ group also urged DepEd to reduce the teaching and non-teaching duties of teachers. Bernardo said this may simply be solved if there is a sufficient number of educators to attend to an ideal class size of 35.

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