Kabataan Partylist’s Raoul Manuel questioned VP-elect and incoming Education Secretary Sara Duterte’s will for full face-to-face classes by August 2022.
The Marcos appointee earlier claimed she is targeting the reopening of all schools by August in a press briefing in Davao City last June 20.
Duterte-Carpio also mentioned that she and the current DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones are communicating regarding the matter.
Briones has been consistently criticized by the education sector for her negligence amid the education crisis, especially worsened by the pandemic. Students have lamented the lack of provision of material assistance and financial support, highlighting the resounding calls for 10k Student Aid. Alongside this, Briones’ legacy as DepEd secretary includes the lack of action towards increasing teachers’ salaries despite continuous clamor.
Although the approval of limited face-to-face classes was implemented under Briones’ term, such developments were met by state militarism as armed personnel were seen residing on public school grounds during the pilot opening, and stark criticisms of the unpreparedness of DepEd to ensure a genuinely safe return to a physical set-up.
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Meanwhile, both Sara and Briones are set to meet on June 25, Saturday.
Briones earlier expressed that full implementation of face-to-face classes will be possible by the next school year, starting in August 2022.
However, Kabataan Partylist laments Sara’s vague pronouncements on her promise to implement full face-to-face classes. Manuel asserts Sara’s statement “may just be a grand populist gesture to appease a disgruntled public over fraudulent elections and worsening economic crisis.”
The only youth party list challenges Duterte-Carpio to renounce President Duterte’s policies including the administration’s negligent and militaristic pandemic response.
KPL further contends that the reopening of schools must be safe and considerate of students’ grievances, especially amid the pandemic and the price hikes of basic necessities.
Based on recent updates, the country has scaled up to a 5.4% inflation rate. Oil prices have consistently soared, causing rapid increases in the prices of essential goods and services as well.
Accordingly, the party list commits to file the Safe School Reopening Bill or House Bill No. 10398 once again. The bill seeks to ensure school safety against Covid-19, allowances for school frontliners, and the protection of the student, teacher, and staff welfare and rights.
Amid the pandemic, students have been the constant target of profiling, intimidation, and brazen attacks by state forces, given their critical stance on the Duterte administration’s policies and priorities. To cite a few, this includes the passage of the unconstitutional Anti-Terror Law, the unilateral abrogation of the UP-DND accord, and the banning of “subversive” reading materials in libraries.
Kabataan will also file the Emergency Student Aid and Relief Bill or House Bill No. 09494 that would provide student aid during states of an emergency including the current pandemic.
The mentioned bills filed by Kabataan in 2021 were earlier rejected by the lower house.
Refiling these bills, Kabataan challenges Duterte-Carpio and the incoming Marcos Jr. administration to commit their support.
“Kung seryoso ang gobyerno sa ligtas na balik-eskwela, dapat i-certify as urgent ang mga panukalang ito,” Raoul Manuel added.
#LigtasNaBalikEskwela
Featured image courtesy of Ryomaandres (Wikipedia)
