The Alliance of Concerned Teachers called on the Department of Education to stop being sensitive to its demand to list down the items and programs that will be affected by the lapsing of Bayanihan 2 funds.

ACT said DepEd called these claims “misinformed,” and said that 90 percent of the funds provided by the law had been obligated and disbursed, contrary to earlier reports that about 40 percent has not been used.

“Had the DepEd been prompt and transparent in giving updates on the status of the use of Bayanihan 2 funds for the agency, they could have clarified that the DBM-provided data was outdated. It is but normal for our teachers to be alarmed at the prospect of precious funds being wasted,” Raymond Basilio, the group’s secretary general, said.

The group asked DepEd when teachers can receive the promised 68,500 laptop and 100GB load, especially seeing as the current school year will close by the end of this week. They are also seeking for an update on the P300-million worth of subsidies and allowances for students, P150 million provision for modules, P200 million for DepEd TV, and P50 million for DepEd radio.

“Instead of issuing snarky responses, we urge DepEd to address its constituents’ valid calls for transparency on the status of the Bayanihan 2 funds and how it plans on making up for the losses due to the law’s expiration. Teachers — who were and are still bearing the brunt of the unsupported shift to remote learning — were understandably alarmed at DBM’s report last week; just as legislators were, prompting several to call for a probe on the matter. We’re not asking them for a favor, we’re asking them to duly exercise transparency and diligence in performing their mandates,” Basilio said.

“Patapos na ang taon, nasaan na ang mga pinondohang programa ng Bayanihan 2? Nasaang yugto na ang pagbili ng mga laptop at data load? Kailan na ito matatanggap? These are real concerns of people who have been badly hit by the pandemic and have gravely suffered through a grueling year of distance learning, largely because of government ineptitude. We can do without Sec. Briones’ short temper and inability to gracefully handle valid criticisms. What we need right now are concrete solutions to problems raised before them,” he added.