ACT-CIS Partylist Rep. Eric Go Yap is pushing for a measure granting hardship allowance to teachers assigned in remote areas.

In filing House Bill 10523 or the proposed Teachers for the Barrios Act, Yap said the Covid19 obviously showed lapses in the system, especially in providing accessible quality education.

“Our teachers bridged and filled those gaps. Through producing and printing modules amid a state of emergency and personally delivering the same to far-flung areas, they were somehow able to heed to the immediate educational needs of their students,” Yap said in his explanatory note.

The solon stressed the current system is imperfect, stating the difficulty of online learning becomes apparent as it is expensive and not as effective due to fluctuating to no signal internet and other factors.

Yap stressed teachers assigned in remote areas go through extreme lengths in looking after their students and so it is only fitting to establish strict measures to do the same for them.

Based on the measure, all teachers assigned to far-flung areas shall be entitled to a monthly hardship allowance equivalent to double the total expenses the teacher will incur every month in additional public transportation from the nearest capital town or urban center of the school where he/she is assigned, assuming educator goes back and forth to school daily.

The Department of Education, in collaboration with the Department of the Interior and Local Government shall issue the implementing rules and regulations of the act.