ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro on Wednesday maintained that their demand for the hiring of 30,000 teachers and construction of 50,000 classrooms yearly is legitimate and logical.

Castro said that the previous governments were able to get near these targets — the Aquino administration hired an average of 29,166 teachers per year and the Duterte administration was able to hire 25,000 teachers per year.

“Mahalaga na mapunuan ang kakulangan ng mga silid-aralan at mga guro dahil dumarami ang mga estudyante kada taon at lalong lolobo ang kakulangan kapag di pa maghire ng 30,000 kada taon o magtayo ng 50,000 classroom kada taon,” the lawmaker said.

“Hindi rin uubra ang blended learning sa pangmatagalan dahil pinapasa lang ng DepEd sa mga magulang ang responsibilidad ng pagtuturo. Makikita rin na kaya nga lumala ang learning gap dahil di angkop ang blended learning dito sa Pilipinas,” she added.

Castro said that the present government can achieve this target if it keeps an open mind.

“Ilang taon na ring panawagan ito ng ACT Teachers party-list at ang pangmasang organisasyon na Alliance of Concerned Teachers Philippines sa mga nagdaang administrasyon at may iba-ibang lebel ng kanilang pagtugon dito pero ngayon lang nangyari na sabihin ng DepEd secretary mismo na ang mga panawagang ito ay unrealistic and impossible.Malinaw sa kasaysayan na kaya itong magawa, ibukas lang sana ang isipan at wag puro red tagging ang inaatupag,” she said.

In response to Duterte’s statement that her group is silent on the attacks conducted by the New People’s Army in Masbate, Castro said these were condemnable and should be investigated by forensic experts and the Commission on Human Rights to determine the real perpetrators of the gun firing near the schools.

“These incidents also highlight the need for the resumption of the peace negotiations between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines to address the root causes of the armed conflict,” she said.