A GROUP of lawmakers urged the committees on Human Rights and Basic Education and Culture at the House of Representatives to investigate, in aid of legislation, the alleged profiling of public school teachers by the Department of Education.

ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. France Castro, Kabataan Partylist Rep. Sarah Jane Elago, Gabriela Women’s Partylist Rep. Arlene Brosas and Bayan Muna Partylist Reps. Carlos Isagani Zarate, Ferdinand Gaite and Eufemia Cullamat filed House Resolution 1719 condemning in the strongest terms the profiling of public school teachers committed by DepEd.

The lawmakers said that DepEd’s action is a violation of Republic Act 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012, Executive Order 180 or guidelines on the right to organize of government employees and Republic Act 4670 or the Magna Carta of Public School teachers.

The resolution was filed following reports on a new round of intelligence gathering and profiling that targeted ACT Teachers Partylist and the Alliance of Concerned Teachers.

The group of congressmen learned that public school teachers in Region 1, 3, 4A, 4B, 6, 10, 13 and Cordillera Administrative Region were asked by their Division Offices to provide the number of ACT members in their area upon the order ofUndersecretary Revsee Escobedo.

“This intelligence gathering is no different from what was conducted and is still being conducted by the Philippine National Police since late December 2018, through which PNP agents have visited schools and even homes of teachers, asking for lists of names of teachers who are members of or affiliated with ACT, along with their personal information,” the lawmakers said in the resolution.

“The spying on teachers was ordered through leaked memoranda coming from top intelligence officials of the PNP which cited as bases and references the 2019 elections and December 2018 memoranda on the same subject,” they added.

The lawmakers also stressed that aside from unlawfully inquiring into and recording the sensitive personal information of public school teachers, the DepEd is also intruding into their freedom to establish and join organizations to defend their interests.

“Congress should intervene in this matter, using both its oversight authority over administrative agencies of government and powers to conduct hearings in aid of legislation, to ensure that responsible officials are made accountable for the violations against the rights of teachers and that such violations are not committed again,” the Makabayan bloc said.