Sara shuns ACT request

Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio (File Photo)

“I will not talk to them anymore.”

Short and stern was Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio’s response when asked about the status of Alliance of Concerned Teacher’s (ACT) request for financial aid for teachers in the city.

Mayor Sara on Thursday said she is still stung by a statement made by ACT last year saying Davao City as the only city in the country that does not give financial assistance to the teachers. The statement was made public through the group’s Facebook page.

The post came days after Mayor Sara and ACT held a dialogue over the latter’s request for financial assistance and rice subsidy for teachers.  The lady chief executive told the group the city cannot subsidize what the teachers’ union was asking in the amount of P2,000-monthly financial assistance and a P2,500-quarterly rice subsidy for all teaching and non-teaching personnel.

An irate Mayor Sara belied the ACT’s accusation and tagged them liars and sympathizers of terrorists groups.

“They accused us of not giving any amount, which is not true because we give P2,000 (worth of gift certificate). So it is not zero,” Duterte said.

Mayor Sara said that she would rather refer the matter over to Department of Education (DepEd) Davao Cityss school division superintendent Dr. Ines Asuncion.

She said that ACT is still free to stage their protest as part of their “freedom of expression”, for as long as they will abide by the city ordinances. 

ACT-Davao City president Reynaldo Pardillo, meanwhile, said that they respect Mayor Sara’s decision. He said that the group will still continue to push for their request through letters that they will forward to the city government.

“We are still positive, and we pray that the government will listen to our plea,” Pardillo said in a phone interview.

The union president said that the group will forward all their requests and communications to the City school division superintendent.

“It’s better that we would throw our concerns directly to Ma’am Ines. She plays a vital role in our push for our appeal,” Pardillio said.

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