ACT alarmed by reported death of teacher kidnapped in Zamboanga Sibugay

March 27, 2009

NEWS RELEASE

Reference:

Antonio L. Tinio (0920-9220817)

ACT Chairperson

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers today expressed apprehension at reports that one of the teachers kidnapped by unidentified abductors earlier this month in Zamboanga Sibugay has died while in captivity.

According to a statement made by the Provincial Crisis Management Committee of Zamboanga Sibugay, Noemi Mandi, 38, passed away because she was not provided with her maintenance medicine. Mandi had been through surgery before her abduction. “The committee received information that one of the teachers, Noemi Mandi, passed away during her captivity due to un-sustained medication of her recent medical operation.”

Mandi, together with Jocelyn Inion, 39, and Jocelyn Enriquez, 43, all teachers of Bangkaw-Bangkaw Elementary School, were abducted at sea last March 13 while on their way home. Police have identified their abductors as a group of pirates led by Kamsa Asdanal. The kidnappers are demanding a P10 million ransom for the release of the teachers.

“We are saddened to hear reports of the alleged demise of one of the teachers kidnapped in Zamboanga Sibugay. Once again, we condemn those responsible for these abductions that have victimized these dedicated public servants and deprived hundreds of school children of access to education. We urge the authorities to immediately verify the condition of all teachers being held in captivity and to redouble their efforts to secure their immediate release,” said ACT national chairman Antonio Tinio, at a press conference held in the ACT office in Quezon City.

Tinio noted that another group of teachers abducted in Zambonaga City still remain in captivity. Last January 23, Rafael Mayonado, 22, Janette de los Reyes, 27, and Freires Quizon, 29, were kidnapped at sea while travelling by boat from Sacol Island, half a mile east of Zamboanga City. Quizon and de los Reyes are teachers of Arena Blanco National High School, Landang Gua Annex, while Mayonado is with Landang Gua Elementary School. Their abductors, identified by authorities as a “lost command” of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, have demanded a P5 million ransom.

ACT unveiled two billboards that would display a running tally of the number of days the two groups of teachers have been kept in captivity. The billboards will be posted prominently on the premises of the ACT national headquarters. “As of today, the Zamboanga teachers have been held hostage for 64 days while the Zamboanga Sibugay teachers have been captive for 15 days,” said Tinio. “We will maintain this tally to remind the public of the plight of our fellow teachers and to push the authorities to secure their release at the soonest possible time. We call on schools throughout the country to do the same. We call on the Department of Education to keep a similar tally at the central office in Pasig.” #

ACT launch GSIS refund campaign in Cebu

February 14, 2009

Progressive and militant teacher’s organization has launched in Cebu province a nationwide campaign to demand refunds from the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS).

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) urged teachers to fight for the scrapping of the GSIS policy of automatically deducting alleged arrears from their claims and benefits.

"Even though Cebu is the political stronghold of the Garcia clan of GSIS President and General Manager Winston Garcia, we teachers of Cebu are united in condemning the unjust and illegal policies of GSIS," said ACT Cebu City chapter chairman William Alterado.

"We'll do our part in ensuring the success of the GSIS refund campaign," he added.

ACT chairman Antonio Tinio, who is currently facing five libel cases from Garcia, urged public school teachers, who compose over a third of the GSIS membership, to fight the policy.

He said ACT's "GSIS Refund Now!" campaign will involve the filing of a lawsuit to nullify the automatic deduction policy, a demand for the refunding of all deductions illegally made against members, and the prosecution of GSIS officials responsible for the said policy.

"Our ACT chapters nationwide are giving out forms that will help teachers victimized by CLIP to document their experience," Tinio said.

He said the present GSIS policy, the Claims and Loans Interdependency Policy (CLIP), "tramples on the right of members to due process and in fact violates the GSIS law itself."

Tinio said Section 41(w) of the said law stipulates that the GSIS Board of Trustees must file a legal action or suit before the proper court or body to recover any arrears incurred by its members.

"From the point of view of members, the law provides them with the protection of due process. The legal proceeding gives them an opportunity to challenge or disprove the claims being made by GSIS against them. On the other hand, the automatic deduction policy is unilateral, summary, and not subject to appeal. It violates the members' right to due process," he said.

Tinio added that the policy is made more unjust due to the shoddy state of the GSIS membership records.

He said GSIS is notorious for maintaining an incomplete and/or erroneous membership database, especially regarding the posting of premium payments.

GSIS itself acknowledges that they are currently engaged in a massive "reposting" project to bring these up to date, he added.

Yet, he said this does not keep them from using this flawed database to generate claims of "premiums in arrears" against its members, which are then automatically deducted the moment they claim a benefit or take out a loan from the GSIS.

"In most cases these so-called premiums in arrears are false, merely the result of their failure to post premium payments. Members are thus subjected to double deductions," he said.

He cited the case of a teacher in Tarlac who was entitled to a maturity claim of P93,185.44 but who only received P50,889.72 after the GSIS automatically deducted P42,295.72 in alleged premiums in arrears.

"This case is typical, it's happening to GSIS members all over the country, and its one of the main reasons why there's such widespread anger against the GSIS. Garcia is fond of extolling the billions of pesos in earnings made by GSIS under his stewardship. The fact is that most of it has been made through illegal deductions from the benefits of members," he said.

Cebu teachers hold prayer and candle lighting for P9,000 hike in pay

March 04, 2009
PRESS RELEASE

References:

William Alterado ACT-Cebu City Chairperson
Benjie Paragsa ACT- Cebu City Secretary General

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers Cebu lead the public school teachers in a candle lighting and prayer rally today (March 4, 6:pm) at Fuente Osmenia Clock, to demand the immediate passage of legislation granting them a P 9,000 in salary.

The demonstratration is the response and cebu's teachers contribution for a nationwide coordinated teachers protest that has been dubbed as “ Teachers on the march: Parada ng mga Guro para sa P9,000 Dagdag na Suweldo.”

The symbolic protest is meant to deliver a strong message to the 8 Cebuano congressmen and the House of Representatives in general. Teachers all over the country are demanding that Congress pass the proposed legislation granting teachers a P9,000 increase not only to restore some of the purchasing power lost over the last seven years but also to address the growing disparity between the salaries of teachers and other positions in government,” said ACT Cebu City chairperson William Alterado.

Alterado noted that salaries of uniformed personnel had overtaken those in the teaching profession since the passage of legislation such as R.A. 8551, passed in 1998, which provided the basis for upgrading salaries of police personnel, and R.A. 9166 in 2002, which upgraded the pay of personnel in the armed forces. “A public school teacher today receives a basic monthly salary of P12,026. A mere cadet in the Philippine National Police Academy, on the other hand, receives P15,992. A 2nd Lieutenant in the armed forces, with academic qualifications similar to that of a teacher, receives P17,629. Aside from this, the lieutenant receives subsistence and other allowances and longevity pay amounting to an additional P5,333. Even a private receives more per month, at P15,036, than a public school teacher. Our demand for a P9,000 increase seeks to address this situation which has downgraded the teaching profession and demoralized teachers.” ###

QUICK FACTS from ACT Philippines-National

(Teachers March in National Capital Region)

ACT national chairperson Antonio Tinio pointed out that salaries of uniformed personnel had overtaken those in the teaching profession since the passage of legislation such as R.A. 8551, passed in 1998, which provided the basis for upgrading salaries of police personnel, and R.A. 9166 in 2002, which upgraded the pay of personnel in the armed forces.

Tinio ticked off these numbers:

■ A public school teacher receives a basic monthly salary of P12,026.
■ A mere cadet in the Philippine National Police Academy receives P15,992.
■ A 2nd Lieutenant in the armed forces, with academic qualifications similar to that of a teacher, receives P17,629. Aside from this, the lieutenant receives subsistence and other allowances and longevity pay amounting to an additional P5,333.
■ Even a private receives more per month, at P15,036, than a public school teacher.

"Our demand for a P9,000 increase seeks to address this situation which has downgraded the teaching profession and demoralized teachers.”

Proposed Salary Standardization Law 3 unfair to public school teachers

NEWS RELEASE

References:
William Alterado ACT-Cebu City Chairperson
Benjie Paragsa ACT-Cebu City Secreray General


The Alliance of Concerned Teachers today criticized a proposed public sector wage hike bill pending in the House of Representatives for favoring military and uniformed personnel over employees in the civilian bureaucracy.

According to ACT Cebu City Chairperson, House Joint Resolution No. 24 will grant higher pay increases to military and police personnel relative to professionals in the civilian bureaucracy, such as teachers, nurses, accountants, lawyers, and doctors.

House Joint Resolution No. 24, “Joint Resolution Urging the President of the Philippines to Modify the Compensation and Position Classification System of the Government and to Implement the Same Initially Effective July 1, 2009, and Authorizing the Amendment of Existing Laws and Issuances Contrary to the Provisions of this Resolution,” was drafted by the Department of Budget and Management and the Civil Service Commission and filed by Speaker Prospero Nograles on September 16, 2008. “Therefore, it is the Arroyo administration’s public sector wage hike proposal,” said Alterado, noting that there were numerous other proposed bills pertaining to salaries pending in the House.

To his part Benjie Paragsa Secretary General of ACT Cebu City said that “While we do not begrudge military and police personnel the pay increases that will be granted them, we do resent the fact that the Arroyo administration has consistently focused on upgrading the pay of uniformed personnel while neglecting to do the same for the civilian bureaucracy,” He pointed out that while Malacañang imposed a wage freeze on civilian personnel from 2001 to 2007, during the same period it substantially upgraded the salaries and benefits of military and police personnel. “Unfortunately, we’re seeing the same bias in the administration’s current proposal.”

ACT revealed that at a recent meeting of a Technical Working Group, DBM officials explained that a Police Officer I or Private will receive a total monthly compensation (which includes basic pay and allowances) of P19,800; a Cadet in the Philippine National Police Academy will receive P25,140; and a 2nd Lieutenant, P34,218. On the other hand, a Teacher I or Nurse I will receive P20,549; an Accountant I will receive P21,940; a doctor or lawyer (Medical Officer I or Attorney I) will receive P28,878. “In this proposal, a Cadet in the PNPA will be paid 22% higher than a public school teacher,” said Tinio. “In fact, the Cadet will have the same basic salary as an Associate Professor I in our state universities and colleges. That’s a tenured Ph.D. holder sharing the same pay grade as a plebe in the academy. Is that fair to professionals in the civilian bureaucracy?”

“We appeal to the members of the House as well as the House leadership, particularly Speaker Nograles and Committee on Appropriations chairman Junie Cua, to heed our call for fairness and uplift the pay and status of teachers and other professionals in the civilian bureaucracy,” said Alterado. “In particular, our demand is for a P9,000 increase in the total compensation of teachers, from the current P14,026 to P23,026.”

Alterado made his appeal during a candle lighting of public school teachers in Fuente Osmenia Clock in Cebu City. This symbolic event signals our determination to carry on this struggle for decent salaries for teachers and other professionals in government.”#

ACT Cebu Challenges the 8 Cebuano Congressmen

March 03, 2009
PRESS STATEMENT

References:
William Alterado ACT-Cebu City Chairperson
Benjie Paragsa ACT- Cebu City Secretary General


Public school teachers today are facing discrimination among government employees and professionals. The half of a million public school teaching and non-teaching personnel are experiencing economic dislocation. The daily cost of living is very high but salary still nailed to a lower level.

We, Alliance of Concerned Teachers Cebu in public schools demand for the immediate passage of legislation granting a P 9,000 in salary.

We , the Alliance of concerned Teachers in Cebu challenged our 8 Cebuano congressmen to help and support this legitimate and just demand for immediate passage of legislation granting a P9,000 legislated salary increase for public school teaching and non-teaching personnel. These proposed legislation intends to upgrade teachers salary not only to restore some of the purchasing power lost over the last seven years but also to address the growing disparity between the salaries of teachers and other positions in government.

Salaries of uniformed personnel had overtaken those in the teaching profession since the passage of legislation such as R.A. 8551, passed in 1998, which provided the basis for upgrading salaries of police personnel, and R.A. 9166 in 2002, which upgraded the pay of personnel in the armed forces. “A public school teacher today receives a basic monthly salary of P12,026. A mere cadet in the Philippine National Police Academy, on the other hand, receives P15,992. A 2nd Lieutenant in the armed forces, with academic qualifications similar to that of a teacher, receives P17,629. Aside from this, the lieutenant receives subsistence and other allowances and longevity pay amounting to an additional P5,333. Even a private receives more per month, at P15,036, than a public school teacher. Our demand for a P9,000 increase seeks to address this situation which has downgraded the teaching profession and demoralized teachers.”

UPGRADE TEACHERS SALARY NOW!
SUPPORT THE P9,000 LEGISLATED SALARY INCREASE FOR TEACHERS!
JUNK CONGRESSMAN NOGRALES SALARY STANDARDIZATION LAW (SSL) 3 NOW!
P6,000 IS NOT ENOUGH, P9,000 IS FAIR AND RIGHT!