VICE President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte yesterday said the department will cooperate with Congress in any of its proceedings in relation to the “no permit, no exam” policy in all public and private institutions.
Duterte made the statement when asked to comment on Senate Bill 1359 prohibiting educational institutions from implementing the controversial policy.
“Let us wait for the discussions doon sa Congress with regards doon sa proposed na batas,” Duterte told reporters in an ambush interview after leading the groundbreaking rites for a soon-to-rise 12-storey residential building in Quezon City for public school teachers in the company of former president and Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte.
Duterte said her office will provide the necessary information and documents to lawmakers, if needed, in relation to the hearings on the “no permit, no exam” bill.
“DepEd fully commits to participate in all hearings and inquiries na ginagawa ng Congress,” she said.
Duterte welcomed the initiative of the city government, in cooperation with the National Housing Authority, to provide teachers with affordable housing units under its “Programang Pabahay para sa mga Guro at mga taga-Lungsod Quezon.”
A total of 300 units will be offered exclusively to residents who will qualify based on their socioeconomic status, while 144 units will be for public school teachers and non-teaching personnel of DepEd who will meet the same requirement.
The units can be availed via financing through PAG-IBIG or the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS).
“I would like to express my thanks to the local government of Quezon City for their invitation to grace the groundbreaking of this housing program whose beneficiaries include teachers of the Department of Education,” Duterte said.
“The lack of housing is a problem centered not only in highly-urbanized areas in Metro Manila such as Quezon City or Davao City in Mindanao,” she added.
In her speech, Duterte recalled that during her term as Davao City mayor, she was able to put up a residential facility called Biyaya ng Pagbabago for the Dabawenyos.
“We have partnered with NHA, San Miguel Foundation, and a private non-profit organization called Pilipinong May Puso Foundation in the establishment of two relocation sites for our urban informal settlers,” she said.
Duterte also said DepEd is willing to collaborate with other local government units to offer housing projects to teachers, adding that DepEd’s role for this initiative is to provide the list of qualified teacher beneficiaries to the LGUs.
Duterte also encouraged teachers to engage in entrepreneurial activities, saying the OVP’s newly-launched program Magnegosyo Ta ‘Day, which serves women and LGBTQ+ members with business training, could help them.
