Kiko Pangilinan wants more funding for teachers’ trainings, no more admin work

Former senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan on Saturday proposed a higher budget allocation for the education sector, which includes more funding for teachers, and to remove administrative work from teaching personnel.

He made the statement following the results of the 2024 functional literacy, education, and mass media survey (FLEMMS) by the Philippine Statistics Authority, which showed that more junior high school graduates are now detected to be unable to comprehend based on the new parameters.

“Of course, we have to increase budgetary support for education. Hindi dapat kinakaltasan, dapat dinadagdagan (There should be no more budget cuts, and it should be increased),” Pangilinan told reporters in General Santos City.

“We must train our teachers. We must fund interventions that will build the capacity of our teachers,” he added. “Bring them out of administrative work, and hire more so that the teaching will be the focus. So there are a lot of interventions that need to be done.”

The Department of Education (DepEd) already issued an order last year removing administrative tasks from public school teachers.

A year later, the DepEd announced that it will renew and hire 7,062 school-based administrative support staff under contract of service across eligible public schools in the country.

Further, Pangilinan said that his advocacy for free school meals could help encourage students to go to school and learn.

“Kaya nagda-drop out ang ating mga anak, ang ating mga estudyente dahil gutom (The reason why many children or students are dropping out is because of hunger) [...] There is no setting conducive to learning when you are hungry,” he added.

Department of Fisheries pushed anew

If elected, Pangilinan also said that he would again file a bill that would create a sole department to address concerns in the country’s fishing industry.

“I believe we must separate the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources from the DA and come up with a separate Department of Fisheries. Our territory is 4/5 water [and] only 1/5 land. But the budget is the opposite,” he said.

“We also have sardines manufacturing in Zamboanga, General Santos. We believe that fisheries will be best maximized, its full potential realized, [if] there is a Department of Fisheries,” Pangilinan added.

Pangilinan first filed a similar bill in 2019 that proposed a Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources. However, it did not move further in the Senate.

Moreover, the former senator said that he would push for a stronger implementation of the Sagip Saka Act, which encourages the government offices to directly procure from local farmers.

“Ang batas na ‘yan, kapag tayo ay nanalo, babalikan natin ang batas at sasabihin natin sa lahat ng ahensya na may kinalaman sa pagbili ng pagkain, itong batas na ito sinasabi na bumili kayo ng direkta sa mga magsasaka,” said Pangilinan during his meeting with the Blaan tribe in General Santos City.

(If we win, we will go back to the law and call on all agencies that deal with food purchases to directly procure from farmers.)

“Kapag hindi nila maipakita na ini-implementa nila ang batas na ito, sasabihin ko ‘yung budget niyo, piso na lang.’ Hindi tayo papayag, gumawa kayo ng paraan para bumili direkta sa tamang presyo, sa mga magsasaka, mangingisda.”

(If they will not implement the law, I will warn them that their budget will be reduced to a peso. We will push them to find a way to directly procure from our farmers and fisherfolk at a right price.) — VBL, GMA Integrated News

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