SENATOR PIA CAYETANO (PC): Puwede ng gumising si Senator Escudero from his power nap.
SENATOR CHIZ ESCUDERO (CE): I was simply relaxing Madam Chair, not sleeping. Senator Jinggoy, are you ready with the permission of the good chairperson? May I preface my interjections by saying, governance is about allocating scarce resources. Palaging kulang ang pondo ng DepEd. It’s about allocating whatever is appropriated to you. You were given roughly Php200-B short of what you asked for by the DBM, based on the NEP. Kulang siya. so dapat lang patama-tamain. DepEd is basically faced with problems that are answerable by either time and motion, studies or logistics, pinapatama-tama pa rin.
My questions will be based on that and since I have been listening to the good Vice President and Secretary serve as the emcee for DepEd, I can address the questions directly Madam Vice President to your undersecretaries as they may be relevant. So may I ask about the student–teacher ratio to Usec. Mercado, right Ma’am? You said the current student-to-teacher ratio is 1 to 40, correct?
DEPED UNDERSECRETARY GLORIA MERCADO (GM): Yes, Sir.
CHIZ: Is that based on the number of teachers in the classroom or the number of teaching items?
GM: It’s based on the number of teachers that we currently have.
CHIZ: The number of teaching items that you have. Not the number of teachers inside classrooms.
GM: Yes, Sir.
CHIZ: So, in others, the student-to-teacher ratio is worse than 1 is to 40. Because the assistant, the secretary, the messenger, the superintendent, and the division province are teachers. Because you lack non-teaching personnel, in fact as we speak you have roughly 12,000 unfilled non-teaching personal items. Would that be correct, Ma’am?
GM: No, Sir. We get non-teaching personnel of 5,000 every year.
CHIZ: Ma’am, but your unfilled non-teaching personnel is at 12,000, based on your presentation.
GM: Non-teaching is only 318, Sir.
CHIZ: Unfilled?
GM: Up to 2022.
CHIZ: Ma’am, unfilled?
GM: Yes, Sir. We have—
CHIZ: Ma’am, your data says non-teaching, unfilled, 12,221. Saan galing ‘yon? That was your submission. Unfilled teaching positions which I will go through later, 24,254.
GM: We have 5,000 allocations for 2023.
CHIZ: Ma’am, I am not talking about the allocation; I’m talking about previous years’ unfilled positions cumulative as of today.
GM: It’s not, it’s 318.
CHIZ: Ma’am as of today, how many unfilled teaching positions do you have?
GM: As I mentioned earlier in the first question, we have a total of 51,127 unfilled but this is—
CHIZ: How many Ma’am?
GM: 51.
CHIZ: Ma’am, this is from you, right? This is your presentation. Teaching unfilled 24,254, non-teaching unfilled 12,221 where does this come from Ma’am? The data of the committee came from you.
GM: This is, the data that I’m currently holding, your Honor, is the most current GMIS.
CHIZ: Ma’am, why did you not submit to the committee your current data? This is what the committee has. This is what we’re basing our questions on. This is from your presentation, Ma’am. The committee could not have generated this.
GM: The data that you have, Sir, is February 17, 2023 and what I’m currently holding, Sir, is based on August 20, 2023.
CHIZ: Did you submit that?
GM: I’m sorry, I did not Sir.
CHIZ: So as of now, how many unfilled teaching positions do we have?
GM: We have a total of 51,000.
CHIZ: Dumagdag pa? Ma’am, no?
GM: Yes, Sir.
CHIZ: Teaching. How many unfilled teaching positions do you have as of August?
GM: Teaching is 32,703.
CHIZ: Nadagdagan pa, Ma’am?
GM: And for teaching-related, it’s 9,598
CHIZ: Nabawasan.
GM: Non-teaching, it’s 8,856
CHIZ: Nabawasan din. So nadagdagan ‘yung teaching items na unfilled? This is from previous years, Ma’am, correct? Twenty-two, twenty-three.
GM: Yes, Sir.
CHIZ: Probably 2021.
GM: No, Sir. We have 2021, and 2022 in our last count.
CHIZ: Including 2023.
GM: Yes, Sir, because it’s a live number, Sir, there are people who resigned—
CHIZ: I agree, Ma’am, but if you’re hiring at 10,000 per year and you are at 32,000 is unfilled positions and if it began in 2021, you’re talking 3 years, 21-22-23 at 10,000 that’s only a total of 30,000 you should have less than 30,000. You have 32,000 unfilled regardless of retirement.
GM: Sir, the unfilled based on position is only 918 as far as 2020, 2021, and 2022 I can submit this record to you because this is GMIS based.
CHIZ: Ma’am saan galing ‘yong 32,000 na binanggit niyo?
GM: Because we have new for this year na 10,000 and there are positions that are allocated to certain green lanes these are the SPIMS, the DOST, and then the 4Ps scholars.
CHIZ: Ma’am, I’m talking about teaching positions.
GM: Yes, Sir, these are teaching positions. We have green lanes in our annual allocation.
CHIZ: Anyway, Ma’am. My original question was 1 is to 40 based on teaching items but can you submit to the committee, I want to belabor the point an inventory of the number of warm-bodied teachers that are actually teaching inside the classroom.
GM: Yes, Sir, will do.
CHIZ: Ma’am, I am aware of the fact that even your superintendents, most of them have teaching items kasi na-promote sila in the course of the years. ‘Yong principal niyo teaching din ang item niyan kasi na-promote din sila in the course the years and you have to understand in the field, if you go to the field ‘yong principal ayaw na magturo dahil ang dami niya raw trabaho. So, it’s not an actual 1 is to 40 based on teaching items. I’d rather see a data or figure that says how many warm-bodied teachers you actually have inside the classroom which is my point I’m driving at, Ma’am, I will fully support the creation of non-teaching personnel for the DepEd. Non-teaching personnel are by far cheaper than the salary of a teacher. To unburden the teacher from performing non-teaching functions so that we can bring them to the classroom. That has been the perennial problem of DepEd for the past 2-3 decades. How long have you been with the department, Ma’am?
GM: Less than a year, Sir, but let me just—
CHIZ: Well, it’s a fact in the department.
GM: Sir, can I just point out—
CHIZ: Yes, Ma’am.
GM: We categorize our teachers as teaching personnel; these are the ones in the classroom. Then we have teaching-related personnel these are the heads, the principals, the head teachers, etc. And then we have non-teaching personnel these are the administrative officers.
CHIZ: I agree, Ma’am.
GM: And the-
CHIZ: I am talking only of teaching personnel.
GM: So—
CHIZ: Ma’am, I’m only talking of teaching personnel here. The reason I’m driving, I’m pointing this our Madam Secretary, Madam Vice President is it’s cheaper to create non-teaching items in order to unburden teachers and order all your teachers to teach inside the classroom. Now it’s also better to develop non-teaching personnel for administrators. Again, your principals are still teachers in your books. They’re still considered and counted as teachers when you say 1 is to 40 but they’re not teaching anymore. Most of your principals aren’t teaching anymore.
Can you issue a memorandum that anyone who has a teaching item should have at least a load of let’s say 6 or 9 units? There is no such memorandum from DepEd. So, the real picture of that student-to-teacher ratio is not reflected by the number of teaching items you have because they’re not teaching inside the classroom. Your 1 is to 40 figure that you gave earlier Ma’am, is not what is happening on the ground. Ask any mayor, congressman, or governor and he will tell you that that’s not what is happening on the ground. So, I would appreciate it if you, Ma’am, would submit to us how many teachers are actually teaching in relation to the total number of items for teachers to get the accurate student-to-teacher ratio.
My second point, Madam Chair, I would not belabor the point because we lack time, you still have a backlog, you said earlier, of 32,703, kung total na ‘yon out of the teaching, teaching-related and non-teaching, if you are going to create 20,000 items for 2024, how sure are we that you can actually fill it up? Because based on your KRI for 2022 and based on your targets for 2024 and 2023, Ma’am, you only said 88 percent, so the DepEd itself is admitting through the DBM in your KRI that you cannot actually fill that many teachers.
So, again, I talked about fiscal space, and the good vice-president and secretary, talked about fiscal space, if you cannot, then let’s move some funds to other items that you need. Since by your own admission, your KRI only says you will fill up the teaching items to meet the student-to-teacher ratio by 88 percent which is a high number if you are talking about the actual backlog. But it’s a low number if you are talking about the items to be created. So, kindly look into that Ma’am, and kindly give us your suggestions as to how you want us to reallocate your funds. Again, governance is about allocating scarce resources.
My third point with respect to this Ma’am is, what is your budget for the salary of teachers, the 20,000 teachers you will hire? Ano ‘yung in-allocate niyong budget? Salary ng teachers sa isang buong taon for 20,000? Or salary ng teacher para sa kalahating taon for 20,000? Why is that Ma’am?
GM: Because they only start joining us in July of the succeeding year.
CHIZ: So kalahati lang talaga?
GM: Yes, Sir.
CHIZ: So, ayaw nyo ba magsimulang mag-hire ng January para yung sa second semester na kulang na teacher mapunuan, does it really have to start at the beginning of each schoolyear? Kulang na ‘yong teachers sabi n’yo ‘di ba? So, why not begin hiring, ‘di ba, in the beginning?
GM: Actually Sir, ‘yong process starts at January but ‘yung limitation namin is the release of the NOSCA, so then the allocation is really just July to December, Sir.
CHIZ: So, Ma’am, just like what Usec. Poa said earlier that very much like the DPWH, they will begin pre-procurement activities by October for line-item budgets for the construction of school buildings, so that they can already give short of award the winning bidder. So, they can begin construction in January, February and take advantage of summer months where its best to construct.
Kung mag-a-award kayo ng May para pag-release ng DBM sabi n’yo kanina ugn SARO May, tag-ulan na. Talagang made-delay ‘yung construction ng school-building. The challenge is to be able to award it and begin construction by taking advantage of the summer months, the same is true here. So, I have no objections about doubling the salary, doubling the amount for as long as you begin hiring as soon as you can.
Because by your own admission, you start in the middle of the year and it will have some delays. And for the information of the good Secretary and Vice President, they cannot hire all 20,00 by July as you have in the past. You will stagger it about 2,000 will be hired in July, and about 8,000 will be hired in August mas mabilis na ang takbo nun. In September x thousands will be hired. DepEd has never been able to hire all 20,000 or all 10,000 in one fell swoop by July 1. That has been the track record of DepEd, Ma’am unless DepEd improves its batting average. So, allocation-wise, if you will allocate the budget staggered to, based on your own capability of hiring and processing the papers, then you have more fiscal space for other things as well, kindly look into it, Ma’am.
GM: Yes, Sir.
CHIZ: On confidential funds, I only request, Madam Secretary, Madam Vice President, can you submit to us the physical and financial plan because I heard you say, in previous interventions, that education is intertwined with national security and I don’t necessarily disagree. But under the joint memorandum circular that is being cited as the basis for confidential funds, when a GOCC, their board allocates confidential funds, they submit the physical and financial plan to the GCG. It does not violate the confidential nature of the funds.
May listahan naman sa joint memorandum circular, ‘di ba, Usec. Poa? Surveillance, transportation. It’s a matter of putting amounts to each that you can legally spend on without specifying, that we are not violating any of the confidentiality rules here. The point I am driving at and the reason I am asking for this, Madam Chair, is to disabuse the thoughts of the people that a confidential fund is a secret fund. Hindi naman ito puwedeng gastusin sa gusto lang gastusin ng DepEd Secretary or you Madam Vice President as Vice President. There are specific rules as to where this can be spent, how this can be spent, and to disabuse the mind of people that this is like a secret fund, it is not.
Secret ‘yung submission ng expenditure but they are only specific items that you can spend it on. I can enumerate it but it’s in the joint memorandum circular so may we request, since it is the discretion of Congress, as I heard the Madam Secretary and Vice President say to grant this or not, we will grant it for as long as we see the physical and financial plan broken down according to the JMC without violating the confidentiality that you need in order to perform your job.
VICE PRESIDENT SARA DUTERTE (SD): Madam Chair, Usec. Poa will answer the question
DEPED UNDERSECRETARY MICHAEL POA (MP): Thank you, your Honor, it is our understanding under the joint circular that we are bound to only submit the said physical and financial plan to the audit team leader within a number of days prior to the disbursement of the check and after we get the check, but, so, I do beg your indulgence, your Honor, according to the circular we are bound by that.
CHIZ: I agree, I agree. As I said by analogy GOCCs are required to submit that to the GCG before they’re allowed to allocate funds of the GOCC for confidential funds. Meaning bago sila payagan ng GCG, sige ganoon muna. In fact, the DILG also requires that of LGUs. Now on the part of Congress, without violating any confidentiality rules because we’re not asking how you will spend it, where you will spend it but simply a physical and financial plan as contained in the JMC as to what your allocation will be based on your plan which we know will change. So, the liquidation of that the details will be kept in a sealed envelope as provided in the JMC submitted to the President, Senate President, and the Speaker.
Again, let me enumerate Usec. Poa can only be spent on rental or transport vehicles. For rental of incidental expenses in the maintenance of safe houses. Purchase rental of supplies materials, and equipment. Payment of rewards to informers. Uncover, and prevent, illegal activities that pose a clear and present danger. You’re only talking about how the Php150-M will be allocated to each allowed item, some may have zero, some may have everything and the details would be kept in a sealed envelope as required with the JMC. Again, the purpose of this Usec. Poa, I have no interest in this quite frankly, the purpose of this is just to disabuse the minds of the people that this is some secret funds that will be used for – uses other than public. Because clearly, you cannot use this to buy a vehicle, you cannot use this to pay the salaries of people, you cannot use this to pay allowances as other people’s imaginations have gone wild about this.
I simply ask for this to disabuse the minds of public with respect to their basic objection to these funds. In fact, if indeed education in intertwined with national security, do you suggest that we also give CHED and TESDA? Kasi kung may problema ka sa droga sa DepEd sa elementary at high school lalo siguro sa college, kung may problema ka sa mga nagre-recruit sa NPA at sa Communist party sa elementary at high school lalo naman siguro sa college. So, if indeed education is intertwined, let Congress consider to giving both CHED or more vulnerable and open to these kinds of influences even criminality and including TESDA.
MP: Yes, Madam Chair, your Honor. As to whether or not we suggest if we should give funds to CHED and TESDA, we are not in the position. We only request and again it is up to the wisdom of Congress to do so. However with your initial request, we do understand the request Your Honor, but I really beg for your indulgence in this matter because under the joint circular, it’s very clear that we are supposed to submit first and foremost to the Office of the President, to the Senate President, to the Office of Speaker of the House as well as to the COA, and as far as the financial and physical plan is concerned we are bound to only submit to our audit team leader, your Honor. So, because we are bound by the rules Your Honor, as much as I understand the question, your Honor, it’s just that we are really bound by the rules.
CHIZ: I’m not arguing with you, Usec. I’m trying to in fact help you to disabuse the impression of the public with respect to this because he loses nothing by doing this and by doing something more than the law requires is not a violation of the law. By doing something less than what the law requires then you’re violating the law but there’s no law that will penalize you for being more transparent, more accountable, and more forthright, if a toll, a law will penalize you for being less forthright, less accountable, and less transparent based on the provision of the law. It is up to you but I leave it to your discretion again the purpose was to disabuse the mind of the public with respect to this that is used for some clandestine, illegal, or personal user purpose because it is not allowed by the JMC, by the joint memorandum circular. Moving on Madam Chairman.
SENATOR JUAN MIGUEL ZUBIRI (JMZ): Madam Chair, with the permission of Senator Escudero, just for the information of the body, on Wednesday I’m calling for the special oversight committee on confidential intelligence funds. It will be at 10 a.m. at the Speaker’s office and that’s where we’ll be discussing all the submitted documents given by the different agencies for review. So, for the information Senator Escudero, he can join us on Wednesday. Actually, make it available, for only five members but ask all the members if they want to attend. Those who want to attend may I attend so that they may ask or they may look at the documents submitted by the different agencies just for the information of the body, your Honor. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
CHIZ: Thank you, Mr. Senate President. My last two points, Madam Chair.
PC: Yes, your time is up so please wrap it up, Mr. Chair.
CHIZ: Kindly look at your EAO Usec. Poa. Bakit iba-iba ‘yung EAO? Minsan—
JMZ: Sorry, we just corrected the Senate President’s Office, not the Speaker’s Office. Sorry.
CHIZ: Some is for affix amount, some is a percentage, whatever capital outlay may be. Can you submit to us a uniform amount for EAO that will be given for the projects that will be implemented, decide on an amount, or decide on a percentage whichever ray, whatever suits you?
MP: We will comply, your Honor. We will comply.
CHIZ: Thank you. And on classrooms, you have roughly a 19 billion fund for classrooms, right?
MP: That’s correct, Your Honor. Although Usec. Densing is our undersecretary for school.
CHIZ: Undersecretary Densing, I heard your discussion earlier. You have Php19-B+ for school buildings.
DEPED UNDERSECRETARY EPIMACO DENSING III (EDIII): 19.6, your Honor.
CHIZ: And you said you will be undertaking pre-procurement activities by October with a school building you’ve identified, correct?
EDIII: Madam Chair Your Honor, it’s correct.
CHIZ: And for the remaining 30% i-identify pa, correct?
EDIII: It’s ongoing, Your Honor. We’ve already identified up to 75%.
CHIZ: Now, we always include the provision in the budget for itemized projects in the GAA this is already the released document. The problem with DepEd in the past is that your school building program is always a lump sum which requires a SARO. But if only you give Congress before we pass the GAA, an itemized listing of the school building including the location and allocation. Bear in mind that your cost for a single-story, two-storey and four-storey school building all differ. So, you have to decide roughly.
You said earlier one classroom is 2.5. A two-story would already cost about 3, 3.1 million. A three, four-story would cost already what 3.5, 3.7 million for classroom. So, you have to know to allocate the Php19-B+. But if you are able to identify them using the provision of GAA that the released documents SANS without a need of a SARO, you can actually already do pre-bidding procedures by October, November. Short of awards, awarded in January and as I said earlier take advantage of the summer months. So, can you complete the listing, Sir? Believe in me Sir, ‘pag natapos mo ‘yung listing at nakalagay sa budget, wala ng congressman at senador na mangungulit sa’yo magpagawa ng school buildings sa mga Distrito o kung anong munisipyo man. It saves you the time and the anxiety. So, it’s in the best interest of the DepEd. Actually, finalists the list base sa need.
EDIII: Madam Chair, your Honor, matatapos po namin ‘yan by this month. In fact, we’re already finalizing by next week after the congressional budget hearing we had last week. We intend to finish it within the month of September.
CHIZ: With one caveat Usec. Densing, I saw in the special provisions especially in the last mile that you include as one of the priorities the construction of a principal’s office and faculty room, given our lack of classrooms, puwede ba mauna muna ‘yung estudyante bago ‘yung principal at ‘yung faculty centers especially in the last mile. I intend to delete that provision in the special provisions of the last mile. ‘Di ba unahin natin ‘yung mga bata, huli na ‘yung principal at ‘yung faculty room.
EDIII: You’re correct with that Your Honor with respect to the principal’s office and faculty rooms.
CHIZ: Although it was stated in the special provisions for the last-mile school buildings.
EDIII: We have not done that at the moment, your Honor. We’ve prioritized school classrooms for the students.
CHIZ: As it should be. Can you submit as a final question that I’m checking, can you submit to this representation a copy of your—Sorry, one last point on the feeding program? I agree with Senator Pia our chairman that early childhood care and development is important. If they are born stunted already, they will be malnourished and stunted when they enter elementary years. So may I ask DepEd, I don’t know who can answer. What is your data on wasted and severely wasted children?
SD: Madam Chair, your Honor, Asec. Galban will answer the question.
CHIZ: This will be my last intervention, Madam Chair on this topic. Yes, what is your data, Sir?
DEPED ASSISTANT SECRETARY DEXTER GALBAN (DG): Based on my latest data Madam Chair, we have our data for school year 2022-2023 that would be for our severely wasted 3.6% and for our wasted 8.6%, for our severely stunted it’s 4.1% and stunted is 12.8%.
CHIZ: Saan galing po ‘yung K to 6 na idea ninyo?
DG: This is our approach, Sir, based on the collected data on severely wasted and wasted learners. Based on our data Mr. Chair, the percentage of learners who are wasted is actually more pronounced at the kinder level and they begin to decrease as they go through the higher levels same goes for our stunting levels, Mr. Chair.
CHIZ: May I ask you Asec. Galban to kindly revisit since we’re doubling the fund anyway to focus on early childhood care and development given that the DepEd chairs it anyway, the DepEd Secretary chairs it anyway. Because if you arrest and address the problem early on as recommended by EDCOM even if they are the ones who are always present and not me. You will prevent stunting wasting later on but when I say early childhood you’re talking about pregnant women, lactating mothers, and 0 to 5 before they even enter, I’m willing to put the fund in DepEd because it’s part of your function which will reduce wasting and severe wasting later on.
Now I asked you to review again because earlier I heard Usec. Poa says that they’re allocating a school-based feeding program for 220 days. But as stated by the honorable Vice President and Secretary your academic calendar is only 188 days. That’s an excess of about 15 percent. If you multiply it by Php11.7-B allocations for feeding you can actually set aside about 15 percent or 1.6 billion for, kaya nga tinawag na school-based, ‘di ba Asec. Sa school niyo pinapakain ‘di naman sa bahay ‘di ba. So paano mo papakainin ‘pag wala ng klase. So perhaps it can be adjusted at least the initial funding I think based on EDCOM too, the funding required to address lactating, pregnant, and 0 to 2 is about 5.6 billion. This is already an initial 1.6 by simply reducing without me questioning or looking at K-to-6 or the number of wasted and severely wasted, stunting, or stunted. Perhaps we can allocate funds to try to meet, ako na maghahanap ng balance, the 5.7 required to address this early stage. Believe me this will require lesser funds later on and you can address the problem at its onset instead of later which will cost more money. Kindly submit to us a reallocation—
SENATOR GRACE POE (GP): Madam Chair, I’d like to add and to clarify, for the question of Senator Escudero. I think maybe because the allocated budget was for more days than there were actually school days you were able to feed double the number of children in the last quarter, in the last budget, am I correct? Because you were actually only given for about more than a million students but you were able to feed about 3 million plus, am I correct?
DG: The approach, Madam Senator, during the pandemic era was the fact that the number of feeding days was reduced in a sense that it was about only 60 days and the distribution was shifted to nutritious food products or your Nutribun and this was distributed via drop-off points because the students are not in school but we still wanted the program to continue and that was the reason why we are able to provide for over 3 million learners. The primary approach was, of course, to prioritize the severely wasted and wasted but also provide for all kinder students.
PC: And that’s why I said maybe we can review if we have to include wasted with severely wasted ‘no. Because it might be better off allocate now to the early childhood intervention. Anyway, parking that, your Honor.
SD: Yes. Madam Chair, your Honor the plan is to extend the school-based feeding program to our learning camps at the end of the school year because there is data to show that the children regress during the end of the school year because they are not fed well by the parents during, when there are no classes. So, the idea is to extend the school-based feeding program for those children who are in learning camps who are severely wasted and malnourished.
CHIZ: Again, Madam Chair, it was a suggestion in order to allocate meager and scarce resources to address the ECCD funding gap which is severely and sorely lacking as of now which will greatly help DepEd once they step into kinder onwards. Thank you, Madam Secretary, and Madam Vice President.
PC: Thank you. So, the other persons on the list have said they will no longer ask questions here but a reminder to all please submit your questions. Do not ask me questions in plenary if you did not submit it in writing here. I’m just joking.