He criticized the Budget Amendments Review Subcommittee (BARSc) for approving the proposed amendments, saying the funds could have been used for other priorities, including higher salaries and benefits for teachers and other government employees.
He called the failure to support salary increases for teachers the “ultimate insult” after educators have spent years pushing for better compensation and working conditions.
“Our teachers were not only manhandled and beaten on the streets yesterday for demanding a salary increase and better conditions, but in the halls of Congress they are being told their pleas are more worthless than political pork,” Tinio said.
Among the proposals pushed in Congress was a P500 increase in the Personnel Economic Relief Allowance (PERA) for teachers and other government employees.
Tinio questioned why the government was allocating billions to what he called “infrastructure lump sums” and “cash assistance programs,” despite concerns that such allocations could be vulnerable to political patronage.
“The government has so much funds for pork barrel, but it claims that it cannot fund the PERA for teachers and officials of the government? This is not a matter of scarcity, it is a matter of twisted, anti-people priorities,” he said.
Gov’t doles get biggest share
Of the P77.86 billion in amendments cited by Tinio, the largest allocations went to assistance programs of the Department of Health, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), and Department of Agriculture.
The DoH’s Medical Assistance for Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients received an additional P24.97 billion, while the DSWD’s Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations program got P25.81 billion. The DA’s Presidential Assistance to Farmers and Fisherfolk received an additional P10 billion.
Tinio said the amendments were approved by the BARSc without a detailed itemization or sufficient disclosure of the target locations and proponents of the programs.
He questioned the transparency of the process, particularly the lack of details showing where the funds would go and who proposed the projects.
Pork for power
“They feast on pork while our teachers starve for dignity and a decent living. They allocate billions for discretionary funds that can be used to consolidate political power, but cannot find the funds to uplift the very people who build the nation’s future,” Tinio said.
He warned the additional allocations could result in cuts elsewhere, potentially affecting essential services such as education and health care.
As the country marked World Teachers Day on Monday, Tinio said educators deserved more than public praise while their demands for better pay remained unaddressed.
The ACT Teachers representative renewed his call for the administration to raise teachers’ salaries and provide benefits that reflect their contributions to society.
“The best tribute to our teachers is not empty rhetoric, but concrete action. Let us champion the fair wages and benefits that they are fighting for. Focus public funds on social services and on those serving the public, not on the pockets of politicians,” he said.
