THE FEDERATION of Associations of Private School Administrators appealed to Sen. Christopher Lawrence ‘Bong’ Go to include private school teachers in basic education in the government’s social amelioration program.

FAPSA president Eleazardo Kasilag said that some private school teachers, especially those from small and newly established schools, have not received salaries since April. Most of these teachers did not receive cash assistance from the government.

“With this, the private school teachers, represented by the SAP Committee of the Federation of Associations of Private Schools and Administrators from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao Regions, appeal to your good office to include these teachers and allocate a budget in the Bayanihan Act 2,” Kasilag said in a letter to Go.

The government provided assistance to displaced employees in other sectors  but private school teachers were not included.

“In behalf of the private schools and administrators, FAPSA is grateful to the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte, through the good and generous people of the Department of Education for showing concern to the private school sector, and it is hoped that the request for financial assistance be on their favor,” Kasilag added.

The private school sector has appealed for help to Congress since May. FAPSA said that a total of 119, 819 teachers from the private school sector were affected by the Covid19 pandemic.

The pandemic has affected an estimated 263,000 private school teachers and personnel, some of whom were laid off or retrenched because of low enrollment or school closures.

“Once our appeal is granted and approved, the FAPSA SAP Committee is willing to facilitate and provide you with the actual data and specific information of those qualified beneficiaries. Systematic procedures and guidelines will then be crafted for the smooth flow of the distribution. All schools will then be requested to submit the detailed information of each school personnel who qualifies the assistance,” Kasilag told Go.

“We are hoping that the small voice of the private schools, specifically the private school teachers, will now be heard through your facilitation and generosity,” he added.

The FAPSA SAP Committee is composed of Kasilag as chairman, Alvin Gallo, Board of Trustee, Tarlac City Private Educational Institutions Association; Marlin Singson, Representative, Private Schools and Administrators Region IV-A and Binangonan Private School Association; Jannette Pante, Representative, Private School and Administrators Region V (Bicol Region); Lyn Cuenza, President, Butuan City Private Schools Administrators Association, Inc. and Representative, Private Schools and Administrators, Mindanao Regions; and Leo Aberon epresentative, Private Schools and Administrators Visayas Regions.