On behalf of the members of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers across the country, we would like to convey our heartfelt thanks to the Inquirer and media practitioners who have supported the demand of teachers for salary increases.
The Inquirer’s June 4 editorial and Conrado de Quiros’ June 5 column (“Still, the national animal”) were very enlightening and informative. They made our day, so to speak, and we decided to post the articles in the bulletin boards of schools nationwide as part of our information campaign.
We need more people and institutions like De Quiros and the Inquirer to build a strong public opinion to convince the concerned bodies and President Aquino, in particular, to grant the teachers’ demand for salary increases. The phrase “our pay cannot take us home” is not an exaggeration. If only for us and our families to survive, we do take on multiple jobs and income-earning activities. But we have never abandoned our duties as teachers nor turned our back on the countless challenges facing us despite the declining state of and support for our educational system.
But we cannot bear anymore the indignities that our government continues to inflict on our persons and profession. We will collectively take our demands to the parliament of the streets, together with the sectors that have thrown their support behind our calls and demands for just and living salaries. To them we say, “May your tribe increase!”
—BENJAMIN VALBUENA,
chair, Alliance of Concerned Teachers,
act_philippines@yahoo.com