DAPAT I-DISKUWALIPIKA A-TEACHER PARTY-LIST, ANTI-PEOPLE!

DESIDIDO ang Alliance of Volunteer Educators (AVE Party-list) na harangin ang proklamasyon ng A-Teacher dahil sa paglabag nito sa itinatadhana ng paglikha sa Party-list.

Ito ay matapos maghain ng isang 14-pahinang petisyon sa Commission on Elections ang AVE Party-list na humihiling na i-diskuwalipika ang mga nominado ng A-Teacher dahil sa tinatawag na “conflict of interest”.

Sa pinagsamang petisyon na inihain nina AVE Party-list Rep. Eulogio “Amang” R. Magsaysay, Dr. Arnulfo Empleo, Senior Consultant at Spokesperson ng partido at Presidente ng National Association of Public Secondary High Schools, Inc. (NAPSHI) at dating Board Member ng Professional Teachers sa ilalim ng Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), Atty. Domingo B. Alidon, Presidente ng DepEd National Employees Union at Chairman of the Board ng DepEd Central Employees Union at ni Mr. Ronald Nicolas, Vice-President ng DepEd Financial Management Personnel Association, binigyang diin ng mga petitioners na binalahura at sinalaula ng A-Teacher ang tunay na diwa ng Party-list system sa bansa.

Ayon kay Ka Arnul, kailangang madiskuwalipika ang mga nominado ng A-Teacher dahil hindi naman ito maituturing na representasyon ng mga tinatawag na “less fortunate” sektor dahil ito ay kinabibilangan ng mga may-ari kung hindi man mga opisyal ng mga pribadong paaralan sa bansa.

“Kahit kailan ay hindi maituturing na marginalized ang mga administrador ng mga pribadong paaralan at Catholic schools. Hindi marginalized group ang kanilang nire-representa sa Kongreso,” ayon pa rink ay Ka Arnul.

“Sa tingin ba ninyo, kung ang A-Teacher ay magkaroon ng representasyon sa kongreso, bababa ba o tataas ang tuition fee?” mariing tanong nito.

Matatandaang ang unang nominado ng A-Teacher na si Mariano Piamonte ay dating Executive Director at dating Presidente ng Catholic Educators Association of the Philippines (CEAP) at siyang nangungunang tagapagtaguyod ng tuition fee increase sa tuwing magsasagawa ng pagpupulong sa Committee on Higher and Technical Education sa Kamara.

Iginiit pa ng AVE ang nangyaring pagkakasuspinde ng CMO 14 ukol sa pag-reregulate ng tuition fee sa bansa. Ayon dito, itinaon na naka-recess ang Kongreso kaya kaduda-dudang nagkaroon ng sabwatan sa pagitan ng mga pribadong paaralan at ng CHED.

Sinabi rin ni Ka Arnul na maraming kaguruan at edukador sa bansa ang napaniwalang kakatawanin ng A-Teacher Partylist ang mga guro ngunit taliwas anila ito nang malantad ang tunay na mukha ng mga nominado.

Sa naturang petisyon, hiniling din ng AVE na kanselahin ang rehistrasyon ng A-Teacher sa Comelec at tuluyan na itong madiskuwalipika.

Si Mariano Piamonte, ay napag-alaman rin Board Member ng University of Regina Carmeli, Malolos, Bulacan. Samantalang ang iba pa nitong nominees ay sila Ulpiano Sarmiento (2nd nominee) Corporate Secretary ng Miriam College Foundation, at Carolina Porio (3rd nominee) Executive Director ng Fund Assistance to Private Education (FAPE), kung saan tila lahat ng mga nominado ng naturang partylist ay sangkot sa “money making enterprise”.

(ni Meloi Maluntag,p.2 SAKSI sa balita, Hulyo 2, 2007)

Proklamasyon ng A-TEACHER, hinarang ng AVE Party-list

Haharangin ng Alliance of Volunteer Educators (AVE Party-list) ang proklamasyon ng A-Teacher dahil sa paglabag nito sa itinatadhana ng paglikha sa Party-list.

Ito ay matapos maghain ng isang 14-pahinang petisyon sa Commission on Elections ang AVE Party-list na humihiling na idiskuwalipika ang mga nominado ng A-Teacher dahil sa tinatawag na “conflict of interest”.

Sa pinagsamang petisyon na inihain nina AVE Party-list Rep. Eulogio “Amang” R. Magsaysay, Dr. Arnulfo Empleo, senior consultant at spokesperson ng partido at presidente ng National Association of Public Secondary High Schools, Inc. (NAPSHI) at dating Board Member ng Professional Teachers sa ilalim ng Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), Atty. Domingo B. Alidon, Presidente ng DepEd National Employees Union at Chairman of the Board ng DepEd Central Employees Union, at ni Mr. Ronald Nicolas, Vice-President ng DepEd Financial Management Personnel Association , binigyan-diin nila na binalahura at sinalaula ng A-Teacher ang tunay na diwa ng Party-list system sa bansa.

Binigyang-diin ni Empleo na kailangang madiskuwalipika ang mga nominado ng A-Teacher dahil hindi naman ito maituturing na representasyon ng mga tinatawag na “less fortunate” sector dahil ito ay kinabibilangan ng mga may-ari kung hindi man mga opisyal ng mga pribadong paaralan sa bansa.

“Kahit kailan ay hindi maituturing na marginalized ang mga administrador ng mga pribadong paaralan at Catholic schools. Hindi marginalized group ang kanilang kinakatawan sa Kongreso,” ayon pa rin kay Empleo. “Sa tingin ba ninyo, kung ang A-Teacher ay magkaroon ng representasyon sa Kongreso, bababa ba o tataas ang tuition fee?”

Matatandaang ang unang nominado ng A-Teacher na si Mariano Piamonte ay dating Executive Director at dating Presidente ng Catholic Educators Association of the Philippines (CEAP) at siyang nangungunang tagapagtaguyod ng tuition fee increase sa tuwing magsasagawa ng pagpupulong sa Committee on Higher and Technical Education sa Kamara.

Binatikos ng AVE Party-list ang pagkakasuspinde ng CMO 14 ukol sa pagreregulate ng tuition fee sa bansa. Itinaon na naka-recess ang Kongreso kaya kaduda-dudang nagkaroon ng sabwatan ang mga pribadong paaralan at ang CHED.

Idiniin pa ni Empleo na maraming guro at edukador sa bansa ang napaniwalang kakatawanin ng A-Teacher Partylist ang mga guro ngunit taliwas ito nang malantad ang tunay na mukha ng mga nominado.

Sa naturang petisyon, hiniling din ng AVE na kanselahin ang rehistrasyon ng A-Teacher sa Comelec at tuluyan na itong idiskuwalipika.

Si Piamonte, ay napag-alaman ring Board Member ng University of Regina Carmeli, Malolos, Bulacan. Samantalang ang iba pa nitong nominees ay sila Uliano Sarmiento (2nd nominee), Corporate Secretary ng Miriam College Foundation, at Carolina Porio (3rd nominee) executive director ng Fund Assistance to Private Education (FAPE), kung saan tila lahat ng mga nominado ng naturang partylist ay sangkot sa “money making enterprise.”


p.2, BALITA, Hulyo 1, 2007

Party-list winners known today?

The Commission on Elections may proceed today with a partial proclamation of winners in the May 14 elections' party-list race, Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos said yesterday.

"We'll discuss up to what number we can proclaim," Abalos said in Filipino. "It doesn't take so much preparation to proclaim winning party-lists. We'll not proclaim the nominees, but their party-list (groups)."

Abalos said the Comelec might conduct a partial proclamation once 17 million votes have been canvassed.

"So far, close to 15 million (votes) have already been canvassed," he said. "We think it should be more than 16 million. To be very safe, we'll put it at 17 million."

Based on the latest tally of the Comelec dated June 15, party-list group Buhay Hayaan Yumabong topped the party-list race with 1.1 million votes, followed by Bayan Muna with over 945,000 votes.

Abalos said the Comelec will only proclaim party-list groups that garnered at least 340, 000 votes or two percent of the 17 million votes, as prescribed in the Party List Election Law.

Other groups that bagged two percent of the votes are the Citizens Battle Against Corruption (CIBAC) with 744,000 votes; Gabriela Women's Party with 590,000 votes; Association of Philippine Electric Cooperatives with 510,000 votes; Advocacy for Teacher Empowerment Through Action, Cooperation and Harmony Towards Educational Reforms Inc. (A-Teacher) with 462,000 votes; Akbayan with 444,000 votes; Luzon farmers Party (Butil) with 404,000 votes; Bagong Alyansang Tagapagtaguyod ng Adhikaing Sambayanan (Batas) with 379,000 votes; and Cooperative-Natco Network party with 359,000 votes.

Abalos also dared party-list organizations to challenge before the Supreme Court and not with the Comelec the implementation of the so-called Panganiban formula in this election.

On April 13, the Supreme Court junked a petition by CIBAC seeing to implement the Comelec's so-called 2-4-6 formula in determining the seats that can be occupied by party-lists in the House of Representatives.

Instead, the SC opted to implement the Panganiban formula, named after former Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban, who penned the document. This states that only the topnotcher in the party-list polls is entitled to a maximum of three seats in the House.

Additional seats can be occupied by those who garner more than two percent of votes that they get.

Under the Comelec formula, on the other hand, a party-list group is entitled to one seat for every two percent of votes that they get.

Groups like the Batas and A-Teacher have filed petitions with the Comelec, questioning the Panganiban formula.

According to Abalos, the groups are barking up the wrong tree in bringing their concerns to the Comelec.

“They have to go to the Supreme Court. We cannot contradict the Supreme Court. Why us? It’s not our formula - that’s why it’s called ‘Panganiban formula.’ The decisions of the Supreme Court are considered the ‘laws of the land’ and we are just implementing them,” Abalos said.

Meanwhile, party-list Rep. Eulogio “Amang” Magsaysay of the Alliance of Volunteer Educators (AVE) representing teachers, yesterday urged the Comelec to disqualify the A-Teacher party-list group because it will only serve the interests of private schools.


By Sheila Crisostomo and Delon Porcalla, p.6 The Philippine Star, June 26, 2007.

Comelec asked to junk another teachers' group

A TEACHERS’ group seeking congressional representation yesterday pushed for the disqualification of another teachers’ group from a similar legislative seat in the 14th Congress, accusing it of working not for the interests of a marginalized sector but for private and Catholic schools in the country.

The Alliance of Volunteer Educators (AVE), which was represented as a party-list group in the 13th Congress, said A Teacher, which was among the party-list organizations that could land a seat in the incoming legislature, is actually representing stockholders of private schools, majority of which are considered as the schools of the rich.

As proof, AVE Rep. Eulogio “Amang” Magsaysay said the principal nominee of A TEACHER to represent the group is Catholic Educators Association of the Philippines Executive Director Mariano Piamonte who was “very vocal” in defending the increase in tuition fees by private schools during past congressional hearings.

“How can this group justify its existence as a representative of the marginalized sector when it was Mr. Piamonte who defended the tuition fee increases by private and Catholic schools?” according to Magsaysay.

“A Teacher cannot be considered as a true representative of a neglected sector of society like the teachers,” he said.

Magsaysay, who claimed that AVE garnered the needed votes to enable it to have congressional seat as a party-list group, said Congress should look deeper into the real objectives of A TEACHER in seeking congressional representation.

“It is not what a real party-list group should be because it represents a sector with other interests,” he said.

The lawmaker said a real party-list group should represent a neglected sector like teachers, farmers, drivers, fishermen and other groups that need “government attention.”

“The motives of A TEACHER in seeking congressional representation are questionable,’ he added.

by Raul S. Beltran, p.5 PEOPLE’S JOURNAL TONIGHT, June 26, 2007

Private schools may partylist?

Nangangamba ang isang partylist solon na magkaroon ng boses sa Kamara de Representante ang mga private schools dahil sa pagkakapanalo ng isa umanong “bogus” na marginalize group.

Inakusahan ni Alliance of Volunteer Educators Rep. Eulogio “Amang” Magsaysay ang partylist na A Teacher na hindi umano kumakatawan sa mga guro.

Nauna ng nghain ng disqualification case sa Commission on Elections si Magsaysay laban sa A Teacher, na isa sa partylist groups na makakakuha ng dalawang silya sa Kamara.

Dagdag pa ni Magsaysay ang isa umanong nominee ng A Teacher ay si Mariano Piamonte, ang executive director ng Catholic Educators Association of the Philippines na dumidipensa umano sa interes ng pribadong eskuwelahan nang magkaroon ng hearing ang House committee on basic education.

ni Leifbilly Begas, p. 12 BANDERA, June 26, 2007

Kalidad ng edukasyon, pinangangambahang lalong bumaba

Nangangamba ang isang kongresista na maaaring bumaba lalo ang kalidad ng edukasyon sa mga pampublikong paaralan makaraang mapaulat ang paglipana ng mga “bopols” na public school teachers na sinasabing walang kakayahang magturo sa kanilang mga estudyante.

Ito ang ipinahayag kahapon ni Alliance of Volunteer Educators (AVE) Party-List Rep. Eulogio “Amang” Magsaysay na posibleng lalong lumala ang problema ng mababang kalidad ng edukasyon sa mga pampublikong eskuwelahan kung hindi mareresolba ang naturang problema.

Sinabi ni Magsaysay na kasalukuyang problema umano ng Department of Education (DepEd) ang kakulangan ng mga kuwalipikado at mahuhusay na guro upang magturo sa mga public schools bunsod ng pangingibang bansa ng magagaling na guro.

Binigyang diin ng Party List solon na ang pag-aabroad ng mga magagaling na titsers sa mga pampublikong eskuwelahan ay bunsod na rin ng napaka-babang pasahod na ibinibigay sa kanila ng gobyerno kung kaya’t ilan sa kanila ang napipilitang mangibang bansa.

ni Mar Rodriguez, p.1-2 BALITA, Hunyo 25, 2007

AVE partylist brings goodies to school

BORACAY - Recently, AVE Party List Cong. "Amang" R. Magsaysay and volunteers converged at the Manoc-Manoc Elementary School here and personally served warm breakfast to 1, 400 elementary and high school students, teachers and non-teachers personnel.

The activity was dubbed as "Lugawan para sa mga Kabataan". It was a source of joy for the participants and beneficiaries, and a moving experience for the team members and organizers.

AVE stands for Alliance of Volunteer Educators. The office of Cong. Magsaysay funded the formation of a team of volunteers to help the students as part of its community program called "Health Care for Children, Love the Teachers, Support the Education".

It is the priority of AVE and Cong. Magsaysay that every youth must acquire and enjoy the right to education.

This is the basic need that every child must achieve, Magsaysay said.

AVE's Magsaysay also distributed to the local children of Manoc-Manoc Elementary School basic school supplies and medicines, and four electric fans for high school.

Cong. Magsaysay advocates the program's ideals and provides the necessary support for the public school teachers, scholarship for the less fortunate students and medical missions.

Bam Luces, Panay News, June 18, 2007