TO RECOGNIZE the importance of education in nation building and the vital role of teachers in guiding and teaching the youth into being productive members of the society, Quezon City 5th District Rep. Alfred Vargas is pushing for a measure that will create plantilla positions in the Department of Education for volunteer teachers.

In his House Bill 7143 or the proposed Plantilla Positions for Volunteer Teachers Act, Vargas said that the position is for those with five years of continuous service in the public school system.

“Teachers, who practice the most noble profession, must be given the value they deserve in their services,” Vargas said in his explanatory note.

The lawmaker explained that volunteer teachers are hired on a temporary basis to augment the shortage of teachers in public school system but a plantilla position is never guaranteed.

“In 2019, news reported that public schools are in need of 31,400 new teachers. For volunteer teachers, the government is struggling to provide quality support which makes it difficult for the teachers to provide for their personal needs, and their meekly allowance makes it very challenging for them to keep up with the increasing living expenses in the country,” Vargas further said.

The measure mandates Department of Education to create plantilla positions for volunteer teachers who have rendered at least five years of continuous service in the primary and secondary public school system provided that they possess the appropriate qualifications and submit the necessary requirements for civil service eligibility.