The Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) called the attention of the Department of Education (DepEd) management for an order from the higher ups to get the details of their members, as well as those of another group, Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT).
Just this morning, members and officers of the TDC from several regions have instructed by their field offices to respond to a survey via internet and other platforms asking for some details of their membership. One notice sent thru Facebook chat group in one of the divisions of Region II reads,
“Good morning everyone, the DepEd Central Office is surveying thru this online form, teachers, who are currently members of Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) and Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT). We appreciate receiving your feedback by filling out this google form today until 12:00 Noon. All PSDS/Districts In-charge are requested to disseminate to all School Heads and Teachers in AOR. Thank you.”
“The TDC leadership despises this action, and thus, will instruct our members not to participate in this survey/profiling/inventory which has no clear objectives and hastily done through Google Forms, text messages, Facebook messages or phone calls,” said Benjo Basas, the group’s National Chairperson in a letter addressed to DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones.
According to Basas, he called for a meeting of TDC national leaders this morning to tackle the said matter and came up with a decision to formally ask the DepEd on the objectives of this survey.
“This act of the DepEd management, which has caused alarm among our members, may be deemed at the very least a simple discourtesy and at the far extreme, a form of harassment. The TDC believes the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers and the 1987 Constitution guarantee the teachers’ right to freely organize themselves without intrusion, interference or fear of reprisal from the authorities. Moreover, the DepEd may be violating the Data Privacy Act and EO 180 (Public Sector Unionism), among other pertinent laws,” he added.
Instead Basas advised the DepEd to formally communicate with the TDC national office or with its leaders to get the data straight from their data base, “Should your office want to access the said data or discuss this or other relevant matters, you may do so by communicating with the undersigned,” Basas explained and then provided the contact number and e-mail and office addresses of the group.
According to Basas, they have sent at least 10 letters of request to the Office of the Secretary since March 2020 appealing for a dialogue between the parties but none of those were granted.
“We will continue to hope that one day, you will consider open communication with your stakeholders, especially organized groups of teachers as a crucial factor in determining proper response to the challenges of our present situation,” the letter says.
The TDC said they are willing to listen to the explanation of the DepEd on this controversy but reminded the agency that self-organization, freedom of association, privacy and freedom of expression are among the rights of workers and employees enshrined in the existing laws and should be treated with sanctity
