HOUSE Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro called out Vice President Sara Duterte for leaving a mess at the Department of Education (DepEd) with some “unfinished business.”
During the House Committee on Appropriations briefing on the proposed P793.18-billion DepEd budget, Castro pointed out that Education Secretary Sonny Angara has his hands full fixing the mess left behind by Duterte’s lackluster leadership.
VP Sara stepped down from DepEd on July 19, 2024.
“It’s a bit disappointing; Vice President Sara Duterte left a lot of problems behind,” Castro remarked.
Castro highlighted one major issue at DepEd as the implementation of the Matatag Curriculum, which only adds to the workload for teachers handling 7 to 8 subjects daily for 45 minutes each.
“The previous administration left you with this mess, and now our teachers are really struggling with this MATATAG curriculum,” she explained.
Castro also brought up the crisis at DepEd concerning the stalled Computerization Program (DCP), where teachers and students didn’t receive laptops and other necessary gear.
DepEd’s failure to remit around P5 billion to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), and Pag-IBIG Fund was another sore point. According to the COA report, DepEd failed to remit P1.3 billion to BIR, P3.1 billion to GSIS, P503 million to PhilHealth, and P182 million to Pag-IBIG.
“GSIS is crucial because if the premium loan remittance to GSIS is late, it will hit the teachers or non-teaching staff with interests,” Castro stressed.
During the budget hearing, Angara assured that the agency would address the COA findings, prioritize premium remittances, and sort out issues related to the Matatag curriculum.
