ANGARA DEFENDS NEW GOV’T PROCUREMENT ACT: Sen. Sonny Angara answers questions from his colleagues as he defends Senate Bill No. (SBN) 2539 or the proposed New Government Procurement Act. SBN 2593 seeks to unify and institutionalize the fragmented policies, rules and regulations pertaining to government procurement. During Monday’s plenary session March 18, 2024, Angara walked the senators through the current procurement processes, pointing out that government agencies had different processes. “The intent of the measure is to pursue further the standardization for greater efficiency. There are actually agencies that are having difficult time in the bidding process,” Angara, sponsor of the bill, said. (Joseph B. Vidal / Senate Social Media Unit)
MANILA, Philippines — The Private School Teachers Association in the Philippines (PSTAP) on Wednesday urged incoming Education Secretary Sonny Angara to address private schools’ woes, including reservations and clarifications on the No Permit, No Exam Prohibition Act.
Miriam Sebastian, founder of the PSTAP, said it is still unclear who should be covered by the “no permit, no exam” policy.
“This is a challenge to the new [Education] Secretary. We have the Republic Act 11984 or the [anti] ‘No Permit, No Exam’ policy, and there are pending House [Bills] 1359 and 7584, which states who should be covered by the ‘no permit, no exam’ policy. We are still waiting for clarifications until now,” Sebastian said in Filipino in an interview with Radyo Pilipinas.
“Many private schools say they are closing down due to lack of funds,” she added.
READ: Anti ‘no permit, no exam’ policy now a law
Read: Private schools say scrapping ‘no permit, no exam’ policy ‘destructive’
Sebastian also raised other problems faced by private schools throughout the years.
“We, in private schools, are left behind. We are not given enough exposure unlike those in public schools. But we understand because lawmakers tell us that we are income-generating. Although we are income-generating, we are taxpayers of this country and on the frontlines of the education sector,” she said in Filipino.
On the other hand, the PSTAP has welcomed Angara’s appointment as Department of Education (DepEd) chief.
“We are positive about Senator Sonny Angara’s designation because we believe there might be changes in DepEd,” Sebastian said in Filipino.
READ: Angara gets DepEd post; choice widely welcomed
The Presidential Communications Office said that Angara will take the helm of the DepEd starting July 19. He will replace Vice President Sara Duterte who resigned as DepEd chief on June 19.
READ: Angara named as new DepEd chief