A DAY after Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte delivered her Basic Education Report 2023, ACT Teachers Party-list Representative France Castro urged the Department of Education to spearhead the pro-teacher and pro-education reforms.

Castro said that in the report, Duterte highlighted the depressing state of the basic education system in the country.

The lawmaker added that recognizing that the basic education system is in crisis and continues to suffer is a start but concrete measures and action needs to be done to raise the quality of education.

“Hindi na kailangang lumayo pa ang ating Department of Education para sa paghahanap ng mga solusyon sa matagal na mga problema ng bansa sa kalidad na edukasyon. Maraming panukalang batas tayong inihain sa House of Representatives para matugunan ang matagal at lumalalang problema sa edukasyon. Kailangan lamang ng political will at suporta mula sa ating kalihim na isabatas ang mga importanteng panukalang batas na nagmula rin naman mismo sa mga konsultasyon at mga obserbasyon sa loob ng mga paaralan,” Castro said.

“We in the ACT Teachers Party-list have been pushing for reforms and policies to improve the quality of education in our country and uplift the lives of our teachers by giving them decent salaries and adequate benefits for many years,” she added.

DepEd, she added, must listen to stakeholders if it genuinely wants to address the perennial problems it presented in its 2023 report.

“Talk to the unions of teachers and non-teaching personnel and talk to the parents and the student organizations. Do not allow red-tagging, harassment, and threats against teachers, parents, and students who have long been struggling for better access to quality education and better working conditions for teachers,” Castro said.