Teachers and students dialogue with Valenzuela Mayor will not push through just yet

The group who wanted to air their grievances and demands to Valenzuela Mayor Rex Gatchalian opted to come out with their public demands instead. They said they have been waiting for three weeks regarding their request for dialogue, but received no response.

Due to still being connected with the college, many teachers in Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Valenzuela (PLV) were afraid to come forward or be singled out.

The group also spoke with ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. France Castro, who will then seek to speak with the mayor about their concerns.

They listed teachers’ demands and students’ demands.

TEACHERS’ DEMANDS:

1. that teachers who were not renewed without a formal written explanation but still wish to continue teaching in PLV be rehired subject to just and transparent evaluation and deliberations;
2. that the “no employer-employee relationship” in the employment contract be removed so that PLV becomes accountable to its employees;
3. that all teachers in PLV, both part-time and full-time, be subject to GSIS, PhilHealth, and PAG-IBIG contributions through salary deduction, and that part-time teachers’ withholding tax be waived;
4. that teachers’ salaries be promptly deposited on or before the 10th and the 25th of the month, reflected on payslip with proper breakdown;
5. that teachers who have been teaching full-time in PLV with a very satisfactory performance for more than six months be provided with permanent items pursuant to the Labor Code of the Philippines;
6. that all teachers in PLV be allowed to exercise their academic freedom without any form of intimidation, censorship, and surveillance from the school administrators; and
7. that teachers be allowed to form a faculty union, registered in the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), which shall protect their welfare and act as their representation.

STUDENTS’ DEMANDS:

1. that students and teachers who signed “An Open Letter to Mayor Rex Gatchalian Regarding the Labor Malpractices and Campus Repression” be free from any form of intimidation from the school administration;
2. that provision no. 41 (for Grade 11) no. 12 (for Grade 12 and college level) that reads, “bringing dishonor to the university” in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) be removed to avoid student repression;
3. that the Supreme Student Council (SSC) be composed of officers who are DULY ELECTED by the student body through an electoral committee independent from the school administration;
4. that the SSC exercise transparency in its budget and finances by releasing a regular report;
5. that the school library put first and foremost the students’ access to information by adding more shelves and updated books in its inventory;
6. that the independence and autonomy of the official student publication (i.e. The PLV Chronicle) be acknowledged and respected pursuant to the Campus Journalism Act of 1991;
7. that a thorough investigation be conducted regarding reports of corruption, physical, sexual, and emotional harassment / abuse and academic intimidation allegedly perpetrated inside the school premises, and that anyone found guilty be held accountable and be immediately removed from office;
8. that students be allowed to exercise academic freedom by being free of any form of intimidation, censorship, and surveillance (e.g. Facebook account needed in enrollment form) by the school administration in class, in organizational activities, and in self-expression;
9. that surveillance and red-tagging of students by the school administration cease; and
10. that the current members of the administrative body be investigated of malpractices and negligence in handling crucial issues in the academe, and if found guilty, be removed from office and be replaced by a set of credible and qualified individuals that will genuinely uphold and represent the teachers’ and students’ interests.

They also assailed the lack of independence and genuine representation of its constituents of bodies such as the faculty association, student council and campus publications.

“Functioning only for mundane concerns, the university’s so-called faculty association fails to represent the teachers and their interests; the same goes for the Supreme Student Council and the official school paper that has by far functioned only as transcribers instead of being genuine campus journalists,” they said in their demand letter on June 29.

They first came out with an open letter to Gatchalian on the first week of June. They responded to Gatchalian’s dismissal of their concerns in the mayor’s interview with Inquirer on June 15 and continued to request a dialogue with him.

Gatchalian posted on June 8 in his Twitter account about a meeting on these concerns, but no one showed up. He then proceeded to meet with the student council and the student publication, PLV Chronicle.

The group who came out with the open letter addressed to him replied that the mayor’s invitation was coursed through a Tweet to writer Jerry Gracio and was sent before the open letter was publicized, making the group conclude that it was not prompted by the letter.