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EDUCATION Secretary Jesli Lapus and the Alliance of
Concerned Teachers (ACT) condemned on Tuesday the burning of a
public school in Taysan, Batangas, which killed a public-school
teacher and a poll watcher who served as members of the board of
election inspectors.
About 3 a.m. on Tuesday, five
armed men carrying automatic rifles barged into the Pinagbayan
Elementary School and poured gasoline on ballot boxes and set them
on fire.
The Department of Education
identified the teacher as Nely Banaag and the poll watcher as
Leticia Ramos. Six others were wounded during the fire, including
Banaag’s daughter, Ritchel, and the chairman of the BEI, teacher
Sally Villena. Villena is confined at the Our Lady of Mediatrix
Hospital and is reportedly in good condition.
“This wretched act resulted in
the death of one of our teachers and a poll watcher. The entire
DepEd community is enraged by this despicable crime,” Lapus said.
Tinio called for justice for the
victims and their families.
Lapus said the department would
give the families of the victims the benefits due to the teachers.
Besides benefits from the
Government Service Insurance System and Pag-Ibig, Lapus said he
would provide additional benefits to the families from the
department’s own funds. The DepEd will also pay for the
hospitalization of the injured teacher.
ACT pointed out that based on the
memorandum of agreement between the Commission on Elections and the
DepEd, the families of the victims are each entitled to P200,000,
since the teachers died while performing their duty as election
inspectors.
Lapus called the teachers as
heroes saying, “This event is a testament to the heroism of the
Filipino public-school teacher.”
He added, “The entire nation
must recognize the sacrifices our teachers make and the risks they
all take in order to ensure the sanctity of the ballot.“
-- Jonathan M. Hicap
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