By Stephanie Sevillano | Philippine News Agency
Education Secretary Sonny Angara on Thursday highlighted the need to love and honor Filipino teachers as the country celebrates Teachers’ Day.
“Isa po sa unang sinabi niya (President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.) sa akin [ay ang] alagaan natin ang ating mga guro, mahalin natin ang ating mga guro dahil sila ang nasa puso ng ating sistemang pang-edukasyon,” he said in a speech during the culmination activity of Teachers’ Month at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
He said all new and innovative reforms and programs within the Department of Education (DepEd) are in line with the directives of the President.
These include initiatives promoting teachers’ welfare like the Expanded Career Progression of Teachers, which provides teachers with teaching or administrative career advancements; increased annual teaching allowance to P10,000 from P5,000; doubled Vacation Service Credits for teachers to 30 days from the previous 15 days; flexible implementation of the MATATAG Curriculum to “better align” with teachers’ workload; the creation of the Task Force Result-Based Performance and Teachers’s Workload which will focus on review and policy recommendations to reduce redundancy and ease their loads; personal accident insurance; partnership with the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao for Teacher Effectiveness and Competencies Enhancement Project (TEACEP); and World Teachers’ Day benefit worth P1,000.
Angara, likewise, lauded First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos as she also served as an educator for over two decades in different schools in the country.
“Isa rin po siyang guro ng abogasya sa West Visayas State University; isa siya sa mga pinaparangalan natin. Happy Teachers’ Day,” he said.
Angara, meanwhile, expressed hopes to receive more support from House Speaker Martin Romualdez and the lawmakers to sustain upholding the welfare of teachers.
“Sana raw madagdagan iyong budget ng Department of Education,” he said, garnering applause from around 10,000 public school teachers from different regions during the event.
The House of Representatives earlier wrapped the budget deliberations on the DepEd’s 2025 proposed budget worth P793.17 billion, with major allocations given for elementary and secondary school operations, government assistance and subsidies, teachers’ recruitment and training, construction of classrooms and procurement of textbooks, among others.