Another group of educators prodded the Supreme Court on Monday to speed up the resolution of petitions seeking to stop the K to 12 education program, which is set to be implemented this school year.
The Council of Teachers and Staff of Colleges and Universities of the Philippines said it is extremely urgent for the high court to rule on the case as affected teachers stand to lose employment because of the implementation of Republic Act No. 10533 (The Enhanced Basic Education Act) and Department of Education Order No. 31.
According to petitioners, their members from University of Santo Tomas and St. Louis University are already in danger of being retrenched and suffer irreparable injury if the SC fails to resolve their plea for issuance of temporary restraining order to halt the program.
They reiterated their argument that their rights would be violated: “Retrenchment of employees is the outright measure set forth without discussion of other measures prior to retrenchment. This is contrary to the rule that retrenchment is a measure of last resort.”
Last week, a group of parents and teachers from Manila Science High School filed a similar pleading with the high court.
They also claimed there is extreme urgency for the high court to act on their petition since colleges and universities are already conducting their entrance tests.
In their petition, the groups argued that the K-12 law violated their constitutional rights to due process and equal protection.
They also assailed the lack of consultation with parents and teachers prior to the issuance of the order.
Petitioners also accused the DepEd of usurping legislative powers in issuing Order No. 31, which implemented the K-12 Basic Education Curriculum and Senior High School.
They said the assailed order was issued without legal authority since Congress was still deliberating on the law at that time.
Two similar petitions were filed before the SC questioning the K to 12 program by Senator Antonio Trillanes IV and Suspend K-12 Alliance led by Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Neri Colmenares and Carlos Zarate. All four petitions have been awaiting action from the high court since last year.
The government has already defended the legality of its K to 12 education program.
In a 37-page comment filed through Solicitor General Florin Hilbay in June last year, the DepEd rebutted the claim of petitioners that R.A. 10533 violates the rights of education workers to full protection of labor, promotion of full employment and equality of employment opportunities, which are all mandated under Article XIII, Section 3 of the Constitution.
Petitioners told the high tribunal that 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.
However, respondents argued that the assailed law provides a “sufficient standard on the impact on labor due to the K to 12 program.”