DepEd chief slams dishonest resignation call

MANILA, Philippines — Education Secretary Leonor Briones yesterday took exception to an online petition calling for her resignation, noting its use of a “dishonest” statement to justify criticisms against her.

Over 300 people have signed the Change.org petition, which attributed to Briones a statement saying that “public service is suffering – financially, physically and psychologically.”

It slammed the secretary for supposedly not taking the side of the teachers, citing the increase in workload that resulted in the “suffering” of public educators.

In a press conference, however, Briones noted that the quote attributed to her was distorted and taken out of context.

 “This meme just used the part when I said public service is suffering… They did not release the entire quote,” she said in Filipino.

The petition used a remark made by Briones during an event of the National Union of Career Executive Service Officers in July.

In her speech, the secretary talked about the challenges of working for the government.

“Public service is not about power and getting rich. It is about suffering – financially, physically, psychologically. It is about attacks from all corners,” she said.

“But it is also joy – the joy of introducing reforms, the joy of touching people and the joy of teaching them new ways of thinking and serving our people,” she added.

Briones said she is ready to address criticisms but noted that debates should be based on rational grounds.

“I do hope that it was not a teacher or a group of teachers,” she said. “In the Department of Education (DepEd), our favorite proverb is ‘honesty is the best policy.’ That meme is not honest at all… It has no integrity.”

The DepEd recently drew criticisms over the supposed heavy workload of teachers. 

Some groups even claimed that the stress caused by the job contributed to the reported suicide of three teachers.

Briones said they have been implementing measures, such as a review of the responsibilities of DepEd personnel, to address the concerns.

“The DepEd is relentless in conducting reviews that will further simplify the forms and processes, thereby enabling teachers to focus more on teaching,” the agency said in an earlier statement.