THE ALLIANCE  of Concerned Teachers slammed the Department of Education for the purchase of 166 units of Mitsubishi Strada trucks to be used for field inspections by its engineers.

The group said that the department should have given priority to the basic needs of distance learning instead.

“We were anguished with this insensible use of education money, especially when our teachers shoulder the costs for bond paper, ink, devices and internet connectivity needed just to make modular and online learning happen amid the pandemic. This is DepEd’s own kind of the dolomite scam,” Raymond Basilio, ACT secretary general, said in a statement.

Basilio said that DepEd’s argument that the vehicles were purchased before the pandemic was no excuse because the “severe shortages in basic learning needs have long hounded the education system, and should have been prioritized.”

“Our teachers who were assigned in far-flung areas have long been climbing mountains on foot or on-board risky motorbikes. Today, they do this to deliver modules to learners’ houses, why hadn’t DepEd thought of alleviating their plight first?” Basilio asked.

He added that the service vehicles could be better maximized if these were used to deliver modules in remote areas.

“DepEd already owes so much to our teachers who were assigned to especially difficult posts. For years, the Magna Carta-guaranteed special hardship allowance due them have not been fully paid, if paid at all, as the agency always says that there are not enough funds for it. As such, this capricious expense is unacceptable,” Basilio said.

Undersecretary Alain Pascua defended the purchase of the vehicles.

“Those vehicles have been procured prior to the pandemic. And when we were about to distribute them, naabutan ng ECQ [Enhanced Community Quarantine] kaya kailan lang ‘yan nai-distribute,” he said.

Pascua noted that the vehicles were used by the agency to help transport frontliners.

“Walang public transport nun, ginamit namin mga ‘yan to respond to the needs of frontliners,” he said.

“Prior to school opening and even until now, those vehicles have been used and are being used in the delivery of modules, in transporting teachers, and in addressing emergencies,” Pascua added.

The vehicles are to be used by field engineers in the inspection of school building programs in remote areas.

“They will also be commandeered by DRRM [disaster risk reduction and management] coordinators during times of calamities and emergencies, tulad nung sa Mindanao earthquakes at Taal Volcano eruption, 4×4 lang pupwede tumawid dun. Binili talaga ‘yan ng DepEd para mas makapagserbisyo at mas makapaglingkod sa ating mamamayan, lalo na sa malalayong lugar na ‘di maabot ng ordinaryong sasakyan,” Pascua explained.