ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. France Castro on Friday lauded local government units for their preparedness for the opening of classes next week.

She urged the national government to emulate LGUs who responded to the needs of students and teachers as the country shifted to distance learning.

Castro praised LGUs for providing gadgets such as tablets and laptops and even internet allowances for students and teachers.

She cited the cities of Quezon and Manila that announced in June that they will provide gadgets and internet allowances for students and teachers.

They were followed by the cities of Pasig, San Juan and Caloocan.

“Ilang araw na lang ay magsisimula na ang pasukan at nakita naman natin ang kahandaan ng mga mayors kung papaano tutugunan ang alternative learning modalities nang sa gayo’y makakapag-aral pa rin ang mga bata sa kabila ng pandemya,” Castro said.

“Kabaligtaran ito sa aksiyon ng gobyerno na makailang ulit nang pinostpone ang klase ay wala pa ring malinaw na balangkas kung paano titiyaking ligtas, dekalidad accessible ang nalalapit na balik-eskwela. Estudyante, magulang at kaguruan pa rin ang magdurusa sa kung saan kukuhanin ang pambili ng gadget, pang-internet at pam-print ng modules.” she added.

The lawmaker stressed that if mayors can address the needs of teachers and students, so can the national government.

“Kung pagtutuunan lang ng pansin ng administrasyong Duterte ang batayang pangangailangan ng bayan kahit pa sa panahon ng pandemya at lumalala ang krisis pang-ekonomiya, hindi lang basta dagdag na 2.61% o P568 bilyon mula sa dating P544 bilyon ang ilalaan nito sa sektor ng edukasyon, ” Castro said.

She urged fellow lawmakers to support the passage of House Bill 7620 or SHIELD Bill, the Makabayan bloc’s comprehensive pandemic response which seeks to allot P6.95 billion for the acquisition of devices for teachers and P50 billion for devices for students.