Senator Win Gatchalian is urging the National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19 and the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) to move teachers up in the priority list for the COVID-19 vaccination program, adding that he supports a similar call from at least 33 education, business and medical groups who signed a position paper calling on the government to move teachers from B1 to the A4 priority list.

Following the Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) report that deaths related to suicide are up by 25.7 percent in 2020 compared to 2019, Senator Win Gatchalian seeks the continued provision of psychosocial support to the country’s K to 12 learners.

Even though the pilot tests of localized and limited face-to-face classes have yet to start, Senator Win Gatchalian said the Department of Education (DepEd) should lose no time in putting up the much needed infrastructure for the safe reopening of schools. 

Following the released survey which identified violence against women as a top concern during the COVID-19 pandemic, Gatchalian reiterated the need to ensure continued education and protection programs for vulnerable girls to combat gender-based violence amid new lockdown and curfew measures.

Instead of simply relying on an area’s quarantine classification in choosing sites for the pilot tests of limited localized face-to-face classes, Senator Win Gatchalian said that the Department of Education (DepEd) should provide science-based criteria or epidemiological measurements such as the number of active COVID-19 cases, positivity rates, and transmission rates.

Senator Win Gatchalian called on the Department of Education (DepEd) to immediately probe reports of what he calls the “sagot for sale” scheme, where parents hire someone else to answer their children’s self-learning modules.

It’s been over three months since the President's ultimatum to the telecommunications companies has lapsed in improving their services, yet consumers continue to suffer from unreliable internet connectivity in the country, Senator Win Gatchalian emphasized.

Though the Philippines jumped from number 111 to the 86th spot in Ookla’s Speedtest Global Index, Senator Win Gatchalian emphasized the need for sustained efforts to bridge the nationwide digital divide to cover all barangays and reach every learner.

“Kahit tuluyan na nating masugpo ang COVID-19, patuloy pa rin tayo sa pagtugon sa mga pinsalang dinulot ng kawalan ng face-to-face classes. Bukod sa pag-urong ng kaalaman, kabilang din dito ang pag-akyat ng mga kaso ng karahasan, pang-aabuso, at ang pagdami ng mga batang ina,” said Senator Win Gatchalian, who has long been advocating localized limited face-to-face classes to hasten learning recovery.