THE ALLIANCE of Concerned Teachers on Friday conducted a Santa Cruzan-themed protest outside the Department of Education office to mark the end of the 40-day overtime rendered by teachers.

“Today marks the 40th day of overtime rendered by teachers. For the last 260 days, we’ve shouldered the responsibilities of the government in delivering accessible quality education. Our teachers and our learners alike suffered the effects of state abandonment even as we ourselves are grappling with the raging pandemic and economic crisis. How long will DepEd and the Duterte regime turn a blind eye to the needs of the education sector?” Raymond Basilio, the group’s secretary general, asked.

During the rally dubbed as Protesta de Mayo, Basilio raised the most pressing issues that left teachers overworked, undersupported, and underpaid.

He pointed out that DepEd has yet to respond to their demand for overtime pay for the extra 77 days that teachers had to work under the extended school year.

A significant number of teachers had to report to school almost daily while some had to visit learners at home, he said.

Basilio added that teachers have not received the laptops and gadgets promised them or their Performance-Based Bonus in 2019.

“Teachers have always been the ones to bear the brunt of education delivery with very little support from the government. They’ve always had to use their own meagre salaries to cover the operational costs of education, such as to procure their own chalk, teaching materials, projectors and the like,” Basilio said.

“We’re still not able to enjoy our benefits and get paid for all the extra hours we put in, plus now we run the risk of contracting Covid19 as we perform the tasks demanded of us. Sobra na,” he added.

ACT appealed to the government to exhaust measures to give teachers and learners what is due them and to ensure that the next school year will not be riddled with the same problems encountered this year.