Kidnappers demand P6 million for three hostages in Southern Philippines

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Jan. 24, 2009) – Kidnappers holding three government teachers on Saturday demanded P6 million ransoms in exchange for the safe release of the hostages, the victims families said.

Kidnappers have allowed the hostages to phone their families and to tell them to raise the money. “They are asking P6 million for all the hostages or two million pesos for each of them. Where are we going to get the money to pay them? We are poor,” a brother of one of the hostages said.

The hostages told their families that they are being held on a mountainous area of Basilan island, just several nautical miles south of Zamboanga City, where they had been kidnapped on Friday.

Four gunmen intercepted a motor boat carrying 10 teachers in the middle of the sea off Zamboanga City and seized the trio. The teachers, Freires Quizon, Janette delos Reyes and Rafael Mayorada, were returning to Zamboanga City from Sacol island when they were intercepted shortly before 8 a.m.

Authorities said the government has a strict no-ransom policy and ruled out payments of ransom to the kidnappers.

No group claimed responsibility for the abductions, but police and military previously blamed the Abu Sayyaf and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front for the spate of kidnappings in Zamboanga City and Basilan island.

But copycat attacks had also been carried out by criminal gangs from Basilan victimizing innocent civilians in Zamboanga City in an effort to raise money from ransom collected for the purchase of weapons and to finance future kidnappings. (Mindanao Examiner)

Disgruntled Teachers In Sulu Hold Protest Rally, Classes Suspended

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 03, 2007) – Hundreds of disgruntled government teachers walked out of schools Monday in the southern Filipino province of Sulu and threatened to barricade themselves unless their salaries have paid.

The teachers complained that they have not been paid their wages the past months by the Department of Education in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and that their contributions to the state pension agency which are worth over 600 million pesos since 2003 were also missing.

They threatened to stage a mass protest should ARMM Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan fail to act on their problems. More than 5,000 teachers are currently teaching in Sulu province, about 950 kilometers south of Manila.

“The teachers are no longer reporting for work. We can no longer take it; our plight is so difficult now. We are suffering,” Faizal Kaddi, secretary of the Sug Educators Forum, told the radio network dzRH by phone from Jolo town, where they held a protest rally in front of the Department of Education.

Kaddi said they received reports that teachers in Basilan province also walked out of their classes.

“The whole world should know how difficult the situation of the teachers in the ARMM. We cannot bear it anymore and we are slowly losing our dignity,” he said.

In October, more than 1,000 public school teachers sought the help of Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan and asked him to President Gloria Arroyo of their plight.

Abdulbasit Pawakil, president of the larger Federation of Sulu Teachers, also asked for a government audit and to investigate the problems of delayed and missing salaries and contributions to the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS).

He said that as of 2003, more than P389 million of teachers’ contributions to GSIS were missing and that this has ballooned to over P600 million and yet ARMM continues to deduct insurance premiums from their salaries. “What is going on? We know the problems, yet nobody is acting on it,” he said.

The teachers were asking for a formal Congressional or Senate investigations into the missing GSIS contributions and salaries and jail those who would be found guilty of embezzling funds.

Others have called on Ampatuan to resign for his failure to address the problems of the teachers in Sulu. They also wanted the Department of Education in Manila to take over the responsibilities of deducting state pension contributions and paying their salaries from the ARMM.

Lawyer Oscar Sampulna, ARMM Executive Secretary, denied all the allegations and insisted the teachers received their salaries on time.

“They are receiving their salaries. Those who are complaining were temporary teachers whose special permits to teach had not been renewed or revoked basically for their lack of the proper documents required by the Department of Education,” he told the Mindanao Examiner.

None from the Department of Education in ARMM or any of its representatives went to Sulu to talk to the teachers about their complaints. Sampulna said those who were complaining should go to the ARMM in Cotabato City in Maguindanao province about their problems. (Mindanao Examiner)

Philippine Teachers Decry Poor Working Conditions, Delay In Benefits

Filipino teachers during the World Teachers' Day celebration in Manila. Many teachers accuse the government of ignoring their plight and urge President Gloria Arroyo to carry out true reforms that will benefit not only the teachers, but all state employees.

MANILA, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 06, 2007) – About a thousand teachers held a peaceful rally in Manila, coinciding with the World Teachers’ Day, to assert their rights and call attention to poor working conditions of the country’s more than a half a million government teachers.

Most of those who joined the assembly were from four national teachers’ unions - the National Federation of Teachers for Democracy (NAFTED), Teachers Dignity Coalition (TDC), the Teachers and Employees Association for Change, Education, Reforms and Solidarity (TEACHERS, Inc.), and the Teachers’ Organization in the Philippine Public Sector (TOPPS).

Rey Jesuitas, TOPPS president, said the education crisis haunting the Philippines is partly due to the deplorable working conditions and lamentable pay of public school teachers.

He said the teachers were urging Manila to carry out reform in the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) policies that will address their plight.

They also urged the government to appoint a new GSIS president who can undertake important reforms that will benefit not only the teachers, but all government employees.

The GSIS oversees the social security benefits of government employees estimated at more than 1.5 million. At present, a lawyer from Cebu province, Winston Garcia, is the GSIS president.

“We therefore call the government to reform the GSIS. This will be possible only if Garcia is sacked and replaced by an official who is transparent and has genuine concern for public sector workers,” Jesuitas said in a statement sent to the Mindanao Examiner.

Militant labor groups allied with government labor unions have previously protested Garcia’s continued stay at the GSIS and blamed him for the delays in loans and other state benefits of civil workers.

The teachers who joined the rally have given a failing grade on Garcia’s performance as president of the GSIS.

“As teachers, we decided to come up with a report card to rate how Garcia has fared so far in managing the national pension fund of government workers and he failed,” Jesuitas said.

“Garcia was rated in terms of financial management, efficiency of operations, transparency and accountability, consultation and participation, consistency and service orientation. He received a failing grade in all, getting below the 75% standard passing average, and even got a 0 rating in transparency and accountability and in service orientation.”

“Garcia completely deserves to get a failing grade. In fact, I believe he should have gotten zero in all areas. GMA (President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo) is to blame too for the woes of the teachers and other government workers, after all Garcia is there primarily because of GMA,” he said.

Sweldo Ng Guro Sa Sulu, Problemang Muli

Si Sulu Gob. Sakur Tan habang pinakikinggan ang mga hinaing ng mga guro sa Sulu. Dumulog sa gobernador ang halos 100 mga guro upang ipabatid ang kanilang mga hinaing ukol sa ibat-ibang problema. (Photo contributed by Ahmad Fabi)

SULU – Nagbabantang mag-aklas ang mga guro mula sa mga government schools upang i-protesta ang umano’y pagkakaantala at kawalan ng mga sahod nito sa mga nakalipas na buwan mula sa Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

Inireklamo rin ng mga guro ang diumano’y kawalan ng aksyon ni Sulu School District head na si Delfin Unga ukol kanilang hinaing.

Kamakailan lamang ay nakipagpulong ang halos 100 guro kay Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan upang idulog ang kanilang mga problema. Dito ay inisa-isa ng mga guro ang kanilang hinaing – mula sa naantalang sahod ng mga regular teachers hanggang sa kawalan ng sweldo ng mga temporary teachers sa buong lalawigan.

Maging ang mga contributions ng mga ito sa Government Service Insurance System o GSIS ay hindi rin umano matagpuan o kaya ay hindi nai-remit sa pamahalaan. Dumaraan kasi ang lahat ng mga ito sa ARMM kung kaya’t hirap ang mga guro na ito’y reklamo.

Tinatayang mahigit sa 5,000 ang apektado nitong problema. Nangako naman si Tan na idudulog ang problema sa Department of Budget and Management at sa ARMM at Pangulong Gloria Arroyo ang mabigat na pasanin ng mga guro sa Sulu.

Ngunit maging si ARMM Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan ay hindi rin mahagilap sa opisina nito sa Cotabato City dahil ni anino ay hindi umano makita sa kanyang tanggapan. Palagi umano itong nasa kanyang bahay sa Shariff Kabunsuan at dismayado na rin ang mga empleyado ng ARMM.

Maging sa mga lalawigan na sakop ng ARMM ay hindi riin mabisita ni Ampatuan. Tagilid umano ang katayuan nito kung muling tatakbo sa susunod na taon sa halalan sa ARMM.

Pinaghahandaan na umano ng mga guro ang kanilang demonstrasyon na isasagawa sa tuwing matatapos ang klase o kaya ay sa tuwing Sabado at Linggo. Suportado naman ito ng mga mga Parents-Teachers Association at mgaing ng mga estudyante. (Mindanao Examiner)