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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Lack of COVID-19 protection for DepEd employees scored

Lack of COVID-19 protection for DepEd employees scored

Published Oct 16, 2020 04:00 pm

A federation of teachers has condemned the “lack of health protection mechanisms” for employees of the Department of Education (DepEd) as COVID-19 cases among its personnel rose to “316 percent in seven weeks.”

ACT Secretary General Raymond Basilio (Facebook / MANILA BULLETIN)

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines observed a “steep increase” in the number of COVID-19 infections at DepEd.

Compared to a DepEd report on 2,193 COVID positive cases among its employees shared by Rep. Jocelyn Sy Limkaichong in the budget hearing Wednesday, the group noted that “with the agency’s data of 526 infected personnel last Aug. 23 would reveal that the number of cases among teaching and non-teaching staff increased by an alarming 316 percent in less than two months.”

ACT Secretary-General Raymond Basilio said that the “rapid spread” of infection among the teachers and staff brings alarm and anguish among its ranks. “We feel the seriousness of our vulnerability with the lack of health screening and mass testing while we were obliged to report to school for module distribution and other duties,” he added.

Basilio slammed DepEd’s efforts to “cover up the truth” about the matter and noted how Education Secretary Leonor Briones has “repeatedly tried to point out that not one among the agency’s cases was a result of exposure during module distribution, as well as how the agency played it difficult in releasing its COVID stats to the public.”

ACT told DepEd that “numbers speak for themselves,” saying that the infection has tripled since the time more teachers were made to come to school and modules were distributed. “Your attempt to hide the truth only makes things worse as you render your own employees blind to the riskiness of their situation,” he added.

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