SENATOR Joel Villanueva supported calls for the full implementation of Magna Carta for Public School Teachers or the Republic Act 4670.

Villanueva said that the quality of an education system cannot exceed the quality of its teachers.

He added that the quality of teachers depend on several factors, including salary increment, study leave, medical care and overtime pay.

“Ang mga bagay pong ito ang tinutumbok ng Republic Act 4670 na sabi nga po ni Senator Win (Sherwin Gatchalian) ay naisabatas noon pang 1966. Kumbaga, vintage law na po. Apat na taon na lang, senior citizen na ang Magna Carta for Public School Teachers,” he said.

“Pero, Mr. President, hanggang ngayon, marami pa rin pong mga probisyon ang RA 4670 na hindi pa rin ganap na naipatutupad. Hanggang ngayon, nananawagan pa rin ang ating mga kaguruan tulad ng Teachers’ Dignity Coalition na tuparin ito ng estado,” Villanueva added.

The senator stressed that Filipino teachers spend 1,218 hours of teaching per year, while the average is only 722 hours for teachers.

“And yet the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers stipulates that “any teacher engaged in actual classroom instruction shall not be required to render more than six hours of actual classroom teaching a day,” he said.

“Sadly, this is only a myth. Filipino teachers are overworked. Kalimitan, dala-dala pa nila ang trabaho sa kanilang tahanan,” the senator added.