DepEd ordered to answer petitions vs K to 12 program

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Education (DepEd) and other government agencies were ordered yesterday to answer a petition before the Supreme Court (SC) of various groups to stop the implementation of the K-12 program, which adds two years to the secondary education curriculum.

The SC ordered the DepEd, Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to comment within 10 days from receipt of notice on the petition of the Council of Teachers and Staff of Colleges and Universities of the Philippines assailing the legality of Republic Act 10533 and its implementing rules and regulations.

The petitioners alleged that RA 10533 violated the rights of education workers to full protection of labor, promotion of full employment and equality of employment opportunities, enshrined in the Constitution.

More than 70,000 college teachers and non-teaching personnel stand to lose their jobs as a result of the full implementation of the program in 2016, they added.

The additional two years in senior high school would cause a lag of two years in enrollment at the tertiary level by 2016, they said.

The petitioners also questioned the joint guidelines dated May 30, 2014, DepEd Memo No. 2 issued in January 2015 and House of Representatives Bill No. 5493 filed on Feb. 23, 2015.

The orders had no basis under the K-12 Law when they provided for compensation (upon transfer to senior high school) and retrenchment of workers, they added.

Petitioners said the issuances are contrary to law and jurisprudence as education workers are forced to suffer such forms of unjust labor practices.

HB 5493 failed to include the fundamental labor rights of affected workers under Article XIII, Section 3 of the Constitution that “the State shall afford full protection to labor, local and overseas, organized and unorganized, and promote full employment and equality of employment opportunities for all, petitioners added.

Petitioners said the Constitution provides that the State shall guarantee the rights of all workers to self-organization, collective bargaining and negotiations and peaceful concerted activities, including the right to strike in accordance with law.