Be one in safeguarding Teachers’ welfare and rights. Gone are the days of passivism and being always a victim. Catandunganon Teachers, Let’s ACT NOW!!!!
It is long overdue that we teachers should learn how to express our feelings and opinion with regards to exercising our rights as it is inherent to us. This privilege is ours to enjoy as long as we are not going beyond what is legal and it is not affecting our job, duties, responsibilities and obligations as a teacher and a citizen of this country. Pursuing what is right and just is humane and expected from among us teachers who are the sources of wisdom and are destined to awaken those who are not learned and informed as our primary roles. That’s education per se. Learning and education become more effective if we teachers are aware, awake and enthusiastic in promoting what is JUST and RIGHT. Let us do away with what is traditional, having a conditioned mind, afraid to fight for his/her right, passive, over submissive and the like. Remember that we have a great influence on everyone, our role is very delicate. So we must be consistent. If we among ourselves didn’t know how to live this principle of education then why are we here? Having this kind of attitude, we are just leading our young generations to be more irresponsible, prone to social misuse and becoming victims of Human Rights Violators, and worse, become individuals with no better judgment.
We in our School support all the educational reforms and efforts for the welfare of all TEACHERS and other concerns that the ACT Philippines and ACT Bicol and all OTHER Regional ACT Chapters are staging. As A Social Studies Teacher and Coordinator in our School, I take the opportunity in the initiation of holding this activity with the support of the Social Studies Department Teachers and with all the teachers headed by our Association President to show our support to the declared nationwide sit-down strike. We know that by publishing this in our weekly newspaper here in our Province, this will encourage more teachers to support and open their eyes to fight for what is due to them.
I am appealing to all other teachers, too, that instead of being busy only in checking their daily newsfeeds in Facebook and liking other pages, why not Add ACT Bicol and ACT Philippines to your Friends list and be updated and enlightened to what these two organization have in store for its members. We should not just like them but we must also be one among them, JOIN ACT BICOL now!!!! Teachers, be not afraid of joining because it is our right and this is recognized by our government. To ensure your safety and satisfy your curiosity about the legality of ACT, may I refer you to DepEd Order No. 51, s. 2003, which states that: “ All school principals and Superintendents shall allow all teachers and even non-teaching personnel to participate in any public employee’s organization sponsored seminar” Furthermore, It states that “ all public school teachers and even non-teaching personnel must be provided with relevant information on the legal bases of public sector unionism.” So, we are not violating anything in participating and supporting ACT activities as long as it is approved. For the information of everybody, there are a lot of benefits that ACT Philippines has contributed for the welfare of all teachers. There is the HB 245, an Act requesting for upgrading the teachers’ entry salary of P18,500 to P25,000 and all government employees from P9,000.00 to P16,000.00, Additional Chalk Allowance from P1,000 to P1,500, Medical Check-up charged to PhilHealth and a lot more… ACT is also pursuing the bill about the regularization of the number of students per class to make it at least close to the ideal number of 30-35, with any excess over this number, a teachers must be given a certain percent in addition to the daily wage of teachers.
Be one in safeguarding Teachers’ welfare and rights. Gone are the days of passivism and being always a victim. Catandunganon Teachers, Let’s ACT NOW!!!!
