2
VOLUME 1, NO. 23 SATURDAY JULY 23, 2022
Senator Win Gatchalian
Gatchalian to push teacher salary hike RESULTS of a survey reveal that half of Filipinos think public school teachers are underpaid. For Senator Win Gatchalian, this puts urgency on passing his topmost priority measure which is to raise the salary of the country’s public school teachers. Based on the results of a Pulse Asia survey conducted on June 24-27, 50% of respondents think that public school teachers are underpaid, 37% think that they have enough salary, while only 3% say that they are overpaid. Ten percent of respondents cannot say whether teachers are underpaid, overpaid, or have enough salary. The survey, which Gatchalian commissioned, had 1,200 respondents. More than half of those belonging to Classes ABC (57%) and E (53%) think that public school teachers are underpaid. Almost half (48%) of those in Class D also think that public school teachers are not adequately paid. Gatchalian has also been pointing out that when it comes to entry level pay, Filipino public school teachers are being left behind by their counterparts in the ASEAN region. In Indonesia for example, the entry-level pay of teachers is P66,099 compared to the P25,439 entry-level pay of Filipino teachers. In Senate Bill No. 149 or the proposed Teacher Salary Increase Act, Gatchalian proposes to raise the Salary Grades of Teacher I from Salary Grade 11 (P25,439) to Salary Grade 13 (P29,798), Teacher II from SG 12 (P27,608) to SG 14 (P32,321), and Teacher III from SG 13 (P29,798) to SG 15 (P35,097). Raising the salaries of public school teachers was one of Gatchalian’s campaign promises. “Panahon na upang itaas natin ang sweldo ng ating mga guro, lalo na’t sila ay napakahalagang sangkap sa pagkakatuto ng ating mga kabataan. Kung maitataas natin ang kanilang mga sahod, maitataas din natin ang kanilang morale at mahihikayat din natin ang mas maraming mga kabataan na kumuha ng kurso sa pagtuturo,” said Gatchalian, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, Arts and Culture. Gatchalian also plans to seek amendments to the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers to make it more responsive to present-day challenges. (OSWG)
NATIONAL
At least 1.3M beneficiaries under 4Ps no longer considered ‘poor’ – DSWD MANILA -- The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is validating the list of 1.3 million beneficiaries from the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) who are no longer considered “poor”, Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said. Angeles said DSWD Secretary Erwin Tulfo made the report before President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during the 3rd Cabinet Meeting held in the Aguinaldo Hall in Malacañang Palace. “Of note is Sec. Erwin Tulfo’s declaration that in the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, at least 1.3 million beneficiaries out of 4.4 million are no longer considered ‘poor’ as a qualification for the 4Ps benefits,” Angeles said. “This frees up P15B for other qualified persons to replace them and now be included in the 4Ps program,” the Press Secretary added. The 4Ps is a human development measure of the national government that provides conditional cash grants to the poorest of the poor, to improve the health, nutrition, and the education of children aged 0-18. It is patterned after the conditional cash transfer (CCT) schemes in Latin American and African countries, which have lifted mil-
lions of people around the world from poverty. The DSWD is the lead government agency of the 4Ps. The 4Ps also helps the Philippine government fulfill its commitment to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)—specifically in eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, in achieving universal pri-
mary education, in promoting gender equality, in reducing child mortality, and in improving maternal health care. The 4Ps operates in all the 17 regions in the Philippines, covering 79 provinces, 143 cities, and 1,484 municipalities. Beneficiaries are selected through the National Household Targeting System for Pover-
The Observer. Observer.com
DSWD Sec. Erwin Tulfo
ty Reduction (NHTS-PR), which identifies who and where the poor are in the country. During the Cabinet meeting, the Department of Education (DepEd) discussed its Priority Programs and Projects for Basic Education while the DSWD presented its own Programs and Projects for Social Welfare. (OPS)
DILG chief seeks upgrade of police investigators’ skills MANILA – Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. on Thursday cited the need to enhance the skills of police investigators to ensure the conviction of culprits in criminal cases. In a press briefing at Camp Crame, Abalos said this is part of the efforts to professionalize the police force. “It is important that our police investigators are well versed in criminal law. Each criminal act has its own elements and for that, each one of the investigators knows these elements very well,” he added. He said enhancing the police’s investigation expertise is important as this would determine the fate of a case. “This single act will determine whether or not the case would be dismissed or not. When it reaches the court, remember, the evidence that is needed in criminal law is proof beyond reasonable doubt,” he added. Abalos said he will order a review of the procedure for picking police investigators. “We will have to review ano ba at papaano ba kinukuha ang mga imbestigador sa kapulisyahan (what is being done and how these
DILG Sec. Benhur Abalos Jr.
investigators are picked). Ito ba ay volunteer system? Ito ba ay may examination? Kaya ba nila o hindi? (Is this via a volunteer system? Is there an examination for this? Are they able to deliver?,” he added. Based on the latest data, Abalos said the 220,000-strong force has only 22,774 investigators, with only 123 of whom are law graduates. He added that the DILG, PNP and the Department of Justice (DOJ) are partnering for a “sort of a mentorship” for police investigators to help them gather lawful and foolproof evidence in cases. “Remember, we are doing this as the people must have trust in the systems of government. And for
this trust to be reinforced, the cases that are filed must result in convictions,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino. From 2016 to July 15, 2022, he said a total of 291,393 drug-related complaints were filed by the PNP. Of these cases, around 21 percent or 62,000 cases resulted in convictions, 5,551 cases were dismissed by prosecutors while 5,753 cases were dismissed in court. “Some 223,579 cases or about 77 percent are still pending. Dapat mabantayan ito (We should keep a close watch on these cases),” he said. Meanwhile, PNP officer-in-charge Lt. Gen. Vicente Danao Jr. thanked the DILG and DOJ for their continued support for the institution. He said the program will promote a better working relationship between law enforcement agencies. “This intends to bring together professionals to increase cooperation and unity in our effort on the counter-terrorism and anti-criminality to include information sharing in all agencies. We always instill in every PNP personnel to protect, respect, and fulfill the rights of every citizen and this is significant advocacy of the PNP’s goal towards genuine transformation,” he said. (PNA)
BOC Chief Yogi Filemon Ruiz
Marcos appoints ex-PDEA official as BOC chief
PRESIDENT Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has appointed Yogi Filemon Ruiz, former Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) official as the new chief of the Bureau of Customs (BOC). Taking the place former Customs chief Rey Leonardo Guerrero, took his oath of office before the President on Wednesday, July 20, Press Secretary Rose Beatrix “Trixie” Cruz-Angeles said. Prior to his new appointment, Ruiz served as chief of the BOC’s Enforcement and Security Services in 2017 by his former boss at PDEA, then-Customs commissioner Isidro Lapeña. He previously served as regional director of the PDEA in Central Visayas.
