Camille Naredo

Teachers gather books donated as the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) launched Tulong Guro donation drive and relief operations to assist teachers and learners in Sta. Lucia Highschool in Quezon City on September 27, 2022. George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News/File

Teachers gather books donated as the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) launched Tulong Guro donation drive and relief operations to assist teachers and learners in Sta. Lucia Highschool in Quezon City on September 27, 2022. The ACT together with donors distributed ‘baon packs’, school supplies, hygiene kits, and used books for the school to use in the aftermath of super typhoon “Karding”. George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

TEACHER ASSISTANCE

Paige Javier

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/173312518082520220927-act-tulong-guro-GC-0829.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Teachers gather books donated as the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) launched Tulong Guro donation drive and relief operations to assist teachers and learners in Sta. Lucia Highschool in Quezon City on September 27, 2022. George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News/File"/>Teachers gather books donated as the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) launched Tulong Guro donation drive and relief operations to assist teachers and learners in Sta. Lucia Highschool in Quezon City on September 27, 2022. George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News/FileMANILA -- The House Committee on Basic Education and Culture questioned why local paper is not being prioritized in the production of textbooks.</div>In a hearing on Monday, ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. France Castro asked representatives from the Department of Education and National Book Development Board about data on paper importation for the last 10 to 15 years.NBDP Policy Industry and Research Division Chief and Office-in-Charge Kevin Ansel Dee said there is a program by law that allows tax and duty-free importation of paper.&quot;A lot of these actually go to DepEd procurement po,&quot; he said.Castro asked if we are indeed importing paper and if there is a need to do so because we are not producing enough paper for our books. &quot;I believe given the volume and the price that we are looking at, hindi na po kaya. I believe there were some efforts to rehabilitate the paper industry here but locally po hindi nakakaya. Depende na po sa kind,&quot; Dee said. NBDP could not give specifics on prices, which it said is under the Bureau of Customs.&quot;Nalulungkot ako, mister chair. Kasi yung paper na dapat tayo na yung nag-pproduce, yung kaya na natin i-produce, pero ganito na yung sitwasyon,&quot; Castro said.<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/regions/2024/11/13/35-school-days-lost-in-cordillera-due-to-cyclones-calamities-954">READ: 35 school days lost in Cordillera due to cyclones, calamities</a></div>Lawmakers also questioned NBDP on the law it is implementing in relation to Filipino publishers.Dee said the objective is to develop the local book publishing industry. However, House panel chairperson Pasig Rep. Roman Romulo asked if the implementation has met the objectives of the updated Textbook Procurement Law&quot;There has been some market improvement. In most countries, a lot of the revenue is in education publishing. A lot of revenue is from the state. Malaking step po yung updated textbook procurement law,&quot; Dee responded.Romulo said since the law was passed in 1995, the industry should be &quot;flourishing&quot; nearly three decades later. Dee said there are several programs that have yet to be implemented and improvement in local procurement and increasing production of books.He added that most imported paper historically goes to broadsheets, resulting in publishers using newsprint for a time.&quot;If paper is the one that&#x27;s important, why are you not pushing for the paper industry for the Philippines? Is it because banned ang tree-cutting? May specific tree ba na dapat ginagamit?&quot; Romulo asked.Dee cited an increase in importation in paper in the 2010s, which hurt the local industry.&quot;There have been some big strides. In terms of local titles being produced, we are at 10,000. Which is still far from our neighbors. A good target would be Vietnam, they produce thrice the amount. Before nasa 2,000 to 3,000 lang tayo,&quot; he added.Castro said developing the local paper industry would help generate more jobs and lower the cost of textbooks.<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/9/2/lawmaker-says-vp-duterte-left-behind-many-problems-on-deped-programs-2014">READ: Lawmaker says VP Duterte &#x27;left behind many problems&#x27; on DepEd programs</a></div><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/9/2/deped-says-no-role-in-vp-sara-duterte-s-children-s-book-1800">READ: DepEd says &#x27;no role&#x27; in VP Sara Duterte&#x27;s children&#x27;s book</a></div><div>UPDATE ON TEXTBOOK PROCUREMENT</div>DepEd Bureau of Learning Resource Director IV Ariz Cawilan said they have already procured textbooks for grades 1, 4 and 7 for the first tranche of the Matatag curriculum. They are missing two titles in music and arts due to failed bidding.&quot;For the second tranche which shall be implemented next school year 2025 to 2026, we are conducting an early procurement activity. Today is the opening of bids. We have a total of 31 bidders,&quot; he said. Cawilan said the agency allotted P1.1 billion for grade 2 textbooks, P2.2 billion for grade 5 textbooks and P1.8 billion for grade 8 textbooks. With this budget allocation, they assure a 1:1 ratio of textbooks to students.&quot;We foresee na matapos po yung bidding within this December. Subject to award nalang po upon approval of GAA [General Appropriations Act] in January… Hopefully by June 2025 andiyan na yung libro in time for opening of classes,&quot; Cawilan added.The DepEd officer said they will adopt a new policy for pre-selection of textbooks and teacher&#x27;s manuals by next year.&quot;Right now, when we call for textbook procurement, the publishers will just submit their textbooks during the bid opening. But for the next upcoming procurement for grade six, nine and ten, uunahin po natin titingnan yung quality ng libro bago po natin sila i-procure. That way we will be saving on time and we will be saving on resources,&quot; Cawilan explained. DepEd said they procure textbooks from private Philippine publishers. However, the lessons exemplars and worksheets are produced by the agency itself.&quot;The locus of our collaboration with DepEd is textbook procurement policies and supplementary learning resources. There has been discussion if some things fall under textbooks or not, if they fall under the purview of NBDP. But there are still ongoing discussions,&quot; Dee said. Castro asked DepEd how they check learning materials that they produce and distribute.&quot;We have an error watch team composed of curriculum experts. If there are reported errors in the materials, titingnan po nila yan. And we will be issuing appropriate addendum, correction, as well as notes to teachers,&quot; Cawilan said. &quot;As to the other learning resources aside from textbooks, we have our quality assurance process din. Our teams are primarily composed of DepEd personnel but we are also engaging other stakeholders para may iba pang makakita,&quot; he added. DepEd said these &quot;third eyes&quot; are composed of academicians and volunteer groups. <div></div>

The House Committee on Basic Education and Culture questioned why local paper is not being prioritized in the production of textbooks.

The House Committee on Basic Education and Culture questioned why local paper is not being prioritized in the production of textbooks.

House panel question use of imported paper in local textbooks

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House panel question use of imported paper in local textbooks

Paige Javier,

ABS-CBN News

Published December 02, 2024 03:41 PM PHT

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Department of Education

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ACT Teachers Partylist

France Castro

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National Book Development Board

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