Teachers insulted by Claire Castro's remarks on Ateneo de Zamboanga shooting —ACT

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) on Wednesday said educators were insulted by remarks made by Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro on the shooting incident at Ateneo de Zamboanga University.

Interviewed on GMA News’ Unang Balita, ACT chairperson Ruby Bernardo said Castro's remarks were demoralizing to teachers who are already dealing with heavy workloads and low salaries.

“Ganito pa 'yung maririnig natin mula sa tagapagsalita ng Pangulo. Hindi po ito nagbibigay ng motibasyon dun sa ating mga guro, sa halip ay nakakadismaya at nakakawala po talaga ng gana,” she said.

“Hindi kami nagtuturo ng kawalang modo doon sa ating mga estudyante, kundi binibigay namin 'yung lahat ng aming makakaya para makapagturo sa gitna ng abang kalagayan namin, maliit 'yung sahod, at halos lahat na nga ay pinatatrabaho pa sa amin,” she added.

GMA News Online sought comment from Castro, but she has yet to provide a statement as of posting time.

At a press briefing on Tuesday, Castro pointed out that there have been instances when some teachers themselves allegedly fail to uphold proper conduct and even teach students to be disrespectful.

“Minsan na po natin nakita, mismo ang ibang mga guro ay lumalabag sa ganitong klase ng moralidad,” she said.

“Sila minsan ay nagtuturo sa kanilang mga estudyante kung papaano maging walang modo, lalong-lalo na sa mga nakakatanda or sa mga ibang tao,” she added.

Bernardo also appealed to the Department of Education (DepEd) and Secretary Sonny Angara to defend and support teachers.

Meanwhile, the ACT official raised concern over the series of school violence incidents recorded since the start of the current school year. According to her, there have been nine incidents of school violence.

She called on the Marcos administration and Congress to allocate sufficient funding for school violence prevention, particularly for additional mental health and security personnel in public schools.

The ACT official also questioned how students were able to gain access to firearms used in the shooting incidents.

Bernardo said initial investigations indicated that some of the firearms came from police officers or relatives of the students, which she said should be subjected to deeper investigation.

She also called for a review of the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act, saying teachers need clearer protection when enforcing discipline.

Bernardo said some teachers have become hesitant to discipline students because they fear being accused of verbal abuse or other forms of child abuse.

She said teachers' morale has declined amid the incidents and what she described as a lack of government support. —AOL, GMA News