House Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro has criticized Vice President Sara Duterte for the multitude of issues she left unresolved at the Department of Education (DepEd), which her successor, former Senator and now Secretary Sonny Angara, will have to address.
Castro expressed her strong criticism during the House Committee on Appropriations’ hearing on the proposed P793.18-billion budget for DepEd and its attached agencies for 2025. The Vice President resigned as DepEd Secretary on July 19.
Castro quickly shifted her focus to the problems inherited by Angara from the previous administration. She highlighted that the curriculum has significantly burdened high school teachers, who now handle 7-8 classes per day, each lasting 45 minutes.
Castro recommended an immediate review of the MATATAG curriculum, which she claimed was hastily implemented, leading to various challenges in its execution.
In addition, the lawmaker emphasized the serious issues identified in the Commission on Audit (COA) report regarding the DepEd Computerization Program (DCP).
Castro also raised concerns about the failure to remit employee contributions on time, amounting to over P5 billion, including remittances to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), and Pag-IBIG Fund.
According to the COA report for 2023, the unpaid contributions include P1.3 billion owed to the BIR, P3.1 billion to the GSIS, P503 million to PhilHealth, and P182 million to Pag-IBIG.
Castro stressed that this has a significant impact on teachers and non-teaching personnel, particularly the delay in GSIS remittances, which could result in penalties and surcharges on their accounts.
Secretary Angara and other DepEd officials assured that the issues raised by COA, especially the unpaid taxes, are being addressed through an ongoing reconciliation process.