THE ALLIANCE of Concerned Teachers urged President Rodrigo Duterte to call a special session of Congress to rechannel the P19-billion budget of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict to education, saying that the funds can cover the internet allowance needs of teachers and students for distance learning.

The group also urged the Department of Education to echo its call as part of its preparations for another school year of remote learning.

“Ample budget provision for distance learning needs is paramount if we hope to truly address issues with access and quality. DepEd should stand alongside us in calling for such. It’s not too late to rectify the poor prioritization in the 2021 GAA, and it’s well within the powers and duties of the President to order Congress to do this ASAP. Rechanneling the P19 billion NTF-ELCAC budget to education will be a good start,” Raymond Basilio, the group’s secretary general, said.

Based on ACT’s computations, P20 billion will be needed to grant P1,500 monthly internet allowance to teachers and 10 gigabyte monthly data provision for the poorest 5 percent of students.

The remaining balance of P1 billion can be sourced from other items in the 2021 budget program, as well as the funding needs for other requisites for a “safe and accessible quality education for all.”

In February, ACT sought a supplemental budget of P120.38 billion for education — P98.5 billion of which will go to distance learning needs, P14.68 billion will cover the needed preparations for in-classroom learning and P7.2 billion will be used to provide health protection and benefits for education frontliners.

“Considering the still uncontained pandemic, the economic downturn, and the grave learning crisis, we find it timely and necessary to review the 2021 GAA and consider the realignment of huge bulks of funds from non-essentials to essentials.,” the group said

“We can do without the red-tagging task force and Duterte’s ‘Build, Build, Build’ program, but our country will suffer without proper education, a strong healthcare system, economic aid for poor Filipinos. The government is duty-bound to provide these, especially so in the midst of overwhelming crises,” Basilio said.

Earlier, legislators expressed their intent to defund the NTF-ELCAC following the latter’s unfounded red-tagging of community pantries.