Students of Pinyahan Elementary School, supervised by their respective teachers, initiate their 'Catch-up Fridays' program by reading storybooks inside their classrooms on January 12, 2024. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/File

MANILA -- ACT Teachers Party List Representative France Castro believes the proposal to ban mobile devices for both students and teachers during classes is “too strict”.

She instead called for regulating cellphone use among learners, and asserted that teachers should have access to their phones in case of emergencies. Castro noted that teachers know when and when not to use their phone.

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian filed Senate Bill 2706 which seeks to ban the use of mobile devices and other electronic gadgets during class hours from kindergarten to senior high school in all public and private institutions. The proposed ban will also cover teachers and faculty members during designated teaching hours. The exceptions include learning and health-related needs, and risk management.

Gatchalian — who chairs the Senate Committee on Basic Education — cites studies from other countries that say excessive use of mobile devices negatively affects learner performance.

READ: Cellphone ban in basic education classes filed in Senate

“Masyado naman ‘yang mahigpit. Kailangan din natin pag-aralan muna mabuti ‘yung advantage and disadvantage. Maaari lang siguro ‘yan i-regulate ang paggamit sa loob ng classrooms… And then, for emergency purpose, dapat may cellphone din ang teacher,” Castro said.

“On the other hand naman, yung mga bigger or yung mga higher, higher level na mga estudyante, like ‘yung mga high school, at saka yung mga senior high school, may mga time kasi na nangangailangan sila ng cellphone. Like, for example, kung meron silang nire-research, diba? Gusto nilang mag-take down notes. Yung iba, hindi na nag-gumagamit ng notebook, eh. Minsan, kinukopya na lang nila or pinipicture nila sa blackboard. So, baka mas efficient sa mga bata yung ganoon, kaya bayaan lang din natin,” she added.

“Ang dapat lang iwasan ay magamit yung cellphone during classes, paggamit sa mga social media, mga pornography, at iba pa. So, kailangan pag-isipan ‘yun,” the lawmaker noted.

“Sa teachers, parang hindi ko rin gusto ‘yung idea na tanggalan din ng cellphone ang teachers, no? Kasi talagang mahalaga naman din na talagang may nagagamit si teacher. So, alam naman ng teacher, kung kailan niya gagamitin yung kanyang cellphone,” Castro stressed.