MANDALUYONG CITY — Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte on Monday urged local leaders to prioritize investments in education for the welfare of Filipino learners.

“As we start implementing Executive Order 138 empowering our local government units toward full autonomy and greater resiliency, I enjoin our local leaders to prioritize investments in education,” Duterte said during the Kalinga 28th Founding Anniversary and 4th Bodong Festival.

“It has always been said that education is the greatest equalizer. Sa edukasyon po, walang mahirap, walang mayaman — lahat po sila ay graduates,” she added.

Duterte laid out the ongoing plans to solving the current problems of the Department of Education — building of classrooms and school infrastructures, hiring of more teachers, and the institutionalization of the blended-learning program, which, according to her, leveraging the technology that is already available worldwide.

The Vice President and Education Secretary added that the Department of Education is currently conducting talks between the House of Representatives and the Senate to update the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers.

The DepEd is also reaching out to the Department of Health (DOH) to ensure that employees enjoy free health check ups.

On the benefits of DepEd employees, Duterte said the DepEd and the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) have an ongoing commitment for a monthly updating on the deliverables for the implementation of benefits for the teaching and non-teaching staff.

“Ina-acknowledge po nila (GSIS) ang lahat ng demands namin at sinasabihan namin sila na dapat po buwan-buwan ay mayroon kaming coordination meeting hanggang sa maayos namin ang mga accounts ng ating mga teaching and non-teaching personnel sa Department of Education,” Duterte said.

Duterte also said the DepEd is also reaching out to different groups of lawyers to provide free legal advice for the teaching and non-teaching staff of the department.

“Mayroon po kaming kinakausap na mga grupo ng mga abogado na kung pwede ay tulungan nila kami na mabigyan ng free legal advise ang ating mga guro bago sila pumirma ng kontrata ng loan obligation o utang,” Duterte said.

“Napakahalaga po na maintindihan ninyo kung ano ang pinipirmahan ninyong kontrata, at ma-explain sa inyo ng isang abogado kung ano po ang mangyayari kapag kayo po ay in default sa inyong pagbabayad sa inyong loan obligations. Kaya po kami, nakipag-usap at naghahanap ng partners para po nationwide, ay mayroon mapupuntahan ang ating mga guro para makapagpakonsulta sila kung ano ba ‘yung pinipirmahan nila,” she added.

She also enjoined everyone to fight against insurgency and drug addiction that “continue to endanger the life and future of our Filipino youth.”

The DepEd’s peace education program, according to Duterte, will help students disengage from extreme ideals and behaviors and ultimately build resilience against terror and resist the lure of drugs.

The Vice President lauded the province of Kalinga for its rich, peaceful, and close-knit community, and the peaceful co-existence between its six ethnicities.

“It is my first time here in Kalinga. It feels like I'm in Davao because in Davao, we hold eleven different indigenous people’s tribes as well,” Duterte said.

“It is mystifying, and I am certain the people who came here and have returned again and again can attest to the comforting vibe of the place and the resonance it brings to those who find refuge in a landscape that remains resplendent and never quiet with its cultural stories. It is a true wonder of our country,” she added.

The Province of Kalingas’s Bodong Festival is a celebration of their tradition “Bodong,” a peace-making system used to forge relationships, resolve conflicts, deliver justice, and preserve peace between communities by preventing violence or retaliation.

Former President and now Pampanga’s 2nd District Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and local officials of the province of Kalinga were also present during the event at the Kalinga Astrodome.

OVP MEDIA