Raket, ibinulgar ni Teacher!

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 20, 2010) - Ibinuko ng ilang mga guro ang diumano’y talamak na bentahan ng “plantilla” sa Department of Education sa Muslim autonomous region sa lalawigan ng Sulu.

Lumapit sa media ang dalawang guro at humihingi ng tulong upang matigil ang korapsyon sa kanilang hanay. Nanawagan pa ang mga guro sa Pangulong Benigno Aquino at mga kinauukulan na masusing imbestigahan ang nasabing bintang.

Ayon sa mga guro ay naniningil diumano ang ilang tiwaling opisyal mula P60,000-P100,000 bilang kapalit sa plantilla sa Sulu.

Marami na umanong nabiktima ang grupo at ilan na rin ang nabigyan ng trabaho, ngunit ang masakit ay hindi pa nakakatanggap ng sweldo ang mga ito at madalas na idahilan ay ang pina-process pa ang kanilang mga papeles. Hinihinala rin na may mga “ghost teachers” sa naturang lalawigan at kinukulekta ang kanilang mga sweldo ng mga nasa likod ng sindikato.

Nabatid na karamihan sa mga nagbabayad upang makakuha ng trabaho ay mga gurong hindi nakapasa sa required government licensure examinations.

“Terible talaga dito (sa Sulu) at nagpapakahirap na nga ang mga guro na makapasok ng trabaho ay ibinibenta pa ang mga plantilla. Kawawa naman kami dahil yun mga iba ay nagungutang pa para lamang makakuha ng plantilla kasi iyon ang inaalok sa kanila par makapagturo,” ani ng isang guro.

“Sana tulungan kami ni President Benigno Aquino at ng Department of Education sa ARMM (Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao) at ng National Bureau of Investigation para matigil na itong kalokohan,” ani pa ng isang guro.

Ito rin diumano ang problema sa Lanao del Sur province na kabilang rin sa Muslim autonomous region, ayon pa sa isang opisyal ng ARMM na nilapitan ng Abante upang idulog ang anomalya.

Sinigurado naman ni Atty. Baratucal Caudang, ang Secretary ng DepEd-ARMM, na bibigyan nito ng kaukulang pansin ang sumbong at sinabi nitong dapat maglabas ng ebidensya ang mga guro upang matibay ang kaso sa mga nasa likod ng anomalya.

“We will not tolerate this kind of activities and we are urging those who are complaining to present their evidence. They should have the courage to come out and identify those who are engaged in these activities,” ani Caudang sa panayam ng Mindanao Examiner. “We have to serve as model. We will not tolerate this malpractice.”

Hindi ito ang kauna-unahang pagkakataon na nag-reklamo ang mga guro ukol sa graft and corruption sa Department of Education sa ARMM.

Talamak noon ang anomalya at maging mga sweldo ng mga guro ay ninakaw at ang milyon-milyong psiong bayad sa premiums ng Government Service Insurance System ng mga empleyado ng ARMM ay hindi rin nai-remit sa pamahalaan.

Ngunit sa kabila nito ay walang malaking isda na nasampahan ng kasong kriminal dahil sa paglabag ng anti-graft law at iba pang kawalanghiyaan sa ARMM. (Mindanao Examiner)

ARMM teachers scammed!

COTABATO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 18, 2010) – State teachers in the southern Philippine province of Sulu have accused some education officials of corruption and urged government authorities to investigate allegations of grafts.

Two teachers alleged that officials were demanding between 60,000 to 100,000 pesos in exchange for appointment papers that would give an applicant a permanent teaching job in various schools in Sulu, one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region.

They claimed that many had been victimized by the scam and that a few were given jobs, but did not receive their salaries for month now. Many of those who applied for the jobs did not pass the required government licensure examinations for teachers.

“It was terrible. We are struggling to work hard, but some people are taking advantage of us,” one teacher said. “Some people are collecting money in exchange of teaching jobs – sixty thousand pesos and up to one hundred pesos are being demanded by them.”

They urged the President Benigno Aquino and the Department of Education in the Muslim autonomous region and the National Bureau of Investigation to look into the scam. “We are willing to come out in the open so we can put a stop into these nefarious activities. We are appealing to President Aquino to order an investigation into our complaints,” another teacher said.

The same problem is also happening in Lanao del Sur province which is part of the Muslim autonomous region.

Lawyer Baratucal Caudang, Education Secretary, said his office would investigate the allegations and urged those who were victimized to come out and file charges. “We will not tolerate this kind of activities and we are urging those who are complaining to present their evidence. They should have the courage to come out and identify those who are engaged in these activities,” he said.

Caudang said he will not tolerate graft and corruption. “We have to serve as model. We will not tolerate this malpractice,” he added.

It was not the first time teachers complained about graft and corruption in the Department of Education in the Muslim autonomous region.

Graft and corruption was so widespread in the past that even salaries for teachers had been stolen and insurance premiums of state workers were not remitted to the central government. But despite these problems, no one had been charged or jailed for violations of the anti-graft law and other wrongdoings in the Muslim autonomous region. (Mindanao Examiner)