The Alliance of Concerned Teachers wants the Department of Education to make public the deal it signed with SMART Communications, the provider of the SIM cards distributed to public school teachers.

The group said that following the distribution of the SIM cards in July, there have been complaints from teachers regarding the lack of network signal in certain areas as well as the difficulty in registering the SIM cards.

Some teachers said that they have already installed postpaid internet connections at home thus rendering the cards useless.

“The SMART SIM cards with data allocation being distributed by DepEd were funded by the Bayanihan 2. As these were tax-funded, DepEd is not only obliged to be transparent with its procurement process but must also promptly respond to the multiple questions and issues raised by teachers regarding this provision—starting from its overly delayed release down to the matter of its sufficiency and usability. Was this really a judicious use of our resources?” Raymond Basilio, the group’s secretary general, asked.

In May 2021, DepEd announced it will grant teachers a 100-GB data allowance that is good for three months. However, reports from ACT showed that teachers only have less than 4-GB of data, which expires every month.

“The Bayanihan 2 provision of P1.2 billion for teachers’ internet allowance — which DepEd said would amount to at least 33-GB per month — was already meagre as it was, but DepEd still somehow managed to make it smaller. The 4-GB data allowance is clearly not enough. It’s a far cry from what was promised and even farther from what we need. Bakit sa halip na papalaki ay papaliit pa ang nakakaabot sa amin, sobra pang delayed?” Basilio said.

ACT argued that if the government was bent on employing a one-size-fits-all plan, it should have opted for the provision of a monthly P1,500 internet allowance to teachers. The group previously submitted to Congress a petition for the allowance signed by over 17,000 public school teachers nationwide.

“We demand that DepEd be transparent on how they addressed teachers’ need for internet allowance, and then we need them to do better, to listen better to teachers’ clamor, especially as the government is geared towards another school year of distance learning. Grant teachers’ call for P1,500 internet allowance, increase the budget for education,” Basilio said.