ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro pledged to monitor the government’s actions for the education sector as she criticized parts of the State of the Nation Address of President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr.

“We will continue to observe the new Marcos administration to see if it will fulfill its many promises and we will not back down if it push anti-people policies like the so-called rightsizing of government, mandatory ROTC and new taxes,” the lawmaker said.

Castro voiced the “collective” exasperation of teachers, saying the President left out the much-delayed salary hike for teachers in his SONA.

She also pointed out that the measures for safe school reopening should be followed “or we will have a disaster waiting to happen as more Covid cases are recorded.”

Castro criticized the determination of Marcos on using English as the medium of instruction.

She said studies have shown that learners should be taught using their first language or mother tongue.

Castro also said that school buildings should not be left for local funding because education is not devolved and is the main responsibility of the national government.

“This will leave many schools in low-income LGUs at a disadvantage, since these LGUs will have insufficient funds to upgrade the sorry infrastructure and facilities in public schools,” she said.