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Loan sharks behind 'utang tagging' vs teachers: party-list

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ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="A classroom in Juan Sumulong Elementary School in Antipolo, Rizal on May 31, 2019, days before the opening of classes in public schools." src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/tvpatrol/11/20190531-school-repair-malabon-md-2.jpg"/><figcaption>A classroom in Juan Sumulong Elementary School in Antipolo, Rizal on May 31, 2019, days before the opening of classes in public schools.</figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA - Loan sharks with connections in the Professional Regulation Commission may be behind the &#x27;utang tagging&#x27; scheme where teachers with unpaid debts cannot renew their teaching licenses until they pay up, a party-list lawmaker said Monday. </p><p>ACT Teachers Partylist Representative France Castro clarified that the teachers affected by the &quot;utang tagging&quot; scheme have balances from non-government loans or loans taken up from &quot;5-6&quot; lending schemes which carry exorbitant interest rates. </p><p>In some instances, loan sharks would even offer jewelry to the teachers so they would fall deeper into debt.</p><p>&quot;Hindi ito accredited sa DepEd, mga loan shark [ito] (Their loans are not accredited by the Department of Education, these are from loan sharks),&quot; Castro revealed.</p><p>She warned that teachers face a &quot;double-whammy&quot;: aside from failing to renew their licenses, they are also sued by the loan sharks to pressure them to pay. </p><p>Unpaid debt outside of government loans should hold no bearing to a teacher&#x27;s standing to qualify for a PRC license renewal, Castro said. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/11/22/prc-suspends-utang-tagging-policy-on-license-renewal">PRC suspends &#x27;utang tagging&#x27; policy after lawmaker raises teachers&#x27; concerns</a></li></ul><p>&quot;Hindi ko lang alam kung may kakuntsaba ang loan shark na ito sa PRC, kaya bakit nakakarating ang ganung mga ulat sa PRC,&quot; Castro said.</p><p>(The loan shark may have connections to the PRC so reports of their outstanding debt reach their office.)</p><p>Castro raised the &quot;utang tagging&quot; policy, during the congressional deliberation of the DOLE&#x27;s 2023 proposed budget last week. </p><p>&quot;Isang taon ko nang kinakausap ang PRC, pero patuloy pa rin silang nagta-tag. Kaya napilitan na ako na isiwalat ito, dahil hindi sila gumagawa ng ano, hindi sila nagbabago,&quot; she said. </p><p>(I have been trying to resolve this with PRC for a year, but the tagging has continued. There was no other choice but to open the issue to the public.)</p><p>The PRC of the past administration had committed to look into the issue, Castro said. </p><p>Meanwhile, ACT Teachers Party-List also filed a bill seeking to raise Filipino nurses&#x27; basic pay to 50,000 pesos a month, in an effort to compensate healthcare workers for the demands of their work and prevent them from seeking better opportunities abroad. </p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2225443" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

ACT Teachers party-List says loan sharks with connections to the Professional Regulation Commission may be behind the 'utang tagging' scheme.