Courtesy: Kamanggagawa Partylist office
DURING the budget briefing of the Department of Education (DepEd) on September 3, 2025, Kamanggagawa Partylist Rep. Eli San Fernando zeroed in on the plight of thousands of contractual education workers, and secured a firm commitment from Secretary Sonny Angara that the department will pursue a long-term plan to regularize Job Order (JO) and Contract of Service (COS) workers in DepEd.
DepEd is the single largest bureaucracy in government, with over 18, 781 JO and COS workers, roughly 10% of all government contractual employees. Raising the issue of their growing precarity, Rep. San Fernando pressed the department on why contractualization continues to proliferate.
“Ang DepEd po ay isa sa pinakamalaking burukrasya sa ating gobyerno. Tama ho ba?” San Fernando asked, to which Sec. Angara confirmed.
After noting that 18,781 of the government’s 178,320 contractual employees are in DepEd, San Fernando pressed further: “Tanong ko po bakit po nagpo-proliferate ang JO at COS sa DepEd, Madam Chair, Mister Secretary.”
Sec. Angara responded that the problem lies in budgetary limits and the lack of plantilla positions, but assured lawmakers that the department has a long-term plan to reduce COS workers.
“It’s an issue of budget at tsaka yung limited plantilya items din ho. But we want to assure you, your honor, that, Madam Chair, na we have a long term plan to reduce the number of COS but of course it will cost a lot of money,” explained Angara. “So we’ll be working closely with the DBM and with our Human Resources Department to address this going forward, your honor.”
San Fernando then sought an unequivocal commitment: “Maganda pong commitment from DepEd and to our secretary. Just for the record, ang secretary po ay nagko-commit na gawing regular ang mga manggagawang JO at COS sa DepEd. Tama po ba to, Mister Secretary?”
Sec. Angara replied: “Yes, of course, of course, that is a commitment, your honor. Subject to the CSC policy, your honor.”
In response, Rep. San Fernando stressed: “Maraming salamat po, Madam Chair, Mister Secretary, marami pong nanonood na JO at COS ngayon at sisingilin po kayo sa inyo pong pangako sa ating mga kontraktwal na manggagawa.”
Beyond contractualization, Rep. San Fernando also flagged the drastic budget cut for Indigenous Peoples Education (IPED) and Special Needs Education (SNED). He secured another commitment from DepEd that the department will fight to restore and increase allocations for these programs.
Finally, he raised concerns on transparency and CSO participation, echoing the demand for school-level budget and performance data to be made public. Sec. Angara responded: “Sunlight is the best disinfectant, so we will really shine a light on all of these figures and make it publicly available.”
Rep. San Fernando closed his interpellation with a message of solidarity: “At muli po, napapanood tayo ng ating mga kapatid, kasama mula sa mga sektor na ito at meron po uling sisingilin ang ating mga kababayan patungkol dito. And we are one with you, Mister Secretary and to our DepEd family na ilaban yung pagpapataas ng budget patungkol dito sa mga programang ito na naka-partikular sa ating Marginalized, Excluded and Vulnerable Sectors.”
