As the fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. looms near, ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. Antonio Tinio called on the government to prioritize measures that would address the education crisis in the country.

Tinio underscored that it was high time that the concerns of educators and students alike were finally addressed particularly as the nearing SONA also marked the upcoming budget season wherein funding for the sector would be determined.

“Teachers came here last May not just to advocate for their own welfare, but to demand that Congress fix a broken education system that is failing our children…the demands of our teachers must be at the forefront, not treated as an afterthought,” he said.

The visit that the lawmaker referenced was the grand lobbying that ACT Teachers organized last May 26 wherein various teachers from private, public, and tertiary level institutions were present at the House of Representatives.

Among the key proposals raised throughout the discussion were said to be a measure to increase the entry-level salary of teachers to P50,000 and to increase the economic relief fund allocated for teachers.

A particular issue that Tinio highlighted concerning the current status of the education system in the country was the “rushed” implementation of the new three-semester system for students, noting that the Department of Education (DepEd) failed to provide teachers with appropriate orientation.

“Teachers are not lab rats. This system should be tested carefully before being imposed on the entire country,” he stressed.

Speaking on the matter of wages, the lawmaker expressed that the government could no longer argue that there was “no budget” for the implementation of such an initiative given the fact that over the past year, it has been revealed that billions of pesos were lost to corruption and other unlawful schemes.

Tinio stressed that teachers were falling behind to other sectors when it came to salary, reiterating the fact that instead of being allocated to educators, funding was being pocketed particularly through the flood control scam and confidential funds misuse.

“There is a budget. The problem is it gets stored in luggages and armored vans of corrupt officials. This is the reason why teachers are joining the fight against corruption and echoing the call to imprison all officials involved in the corruption scandals,” he said.

The solon further stated that the coming SONA and budget season were going to be the “ultimate test” when it came to the “political will” of the current administration, given the fact that it had been two months since teachers presented themselves at Congress to echo their needs.

“Congress must listen and act, not with promises, but with concrete legislation and budget allocations that show teachers are valued,” Tinio remarked.