Remember that viral video last year about a teacher in Batanes who climbed a steel flagpole barefoot and without any safety harness to fix a broken rope before the flag ceremony? Teacher Carol became an instant heroine, and she later found herself honored for her act of patriotism during a celebration at Rizal Park.
But have we really asked why teachers are climbing flagpoles in the first place? In this country, heroism has become a substitute for efficient governance. We lionize teachers who do men’s jobs, walk 14 kilometers to reach classrooms, and spend their own salaries on chalk and books. We do this not because we admire their sacrifice, but because we have normalized problems that have become commonplace. We have turned desperation into inspiration.
The Second Congressional Commission on Education recently released a report showing that 80 percent of Grades 1 to 3 students are struggling readers. Some 88 percent of Grade 7 students cannot read at grade level. The statistics are so alarming that an EDCOM official who presented the data described it as “a challenge to the nation’s survival.” We agree.
The causes are clear and overlapping. Teachers and students lack learning resources. Teachers need sufficient training. Classrooms need to be decongested. Mass promotion must stop, especially when students advance despite failing to master basic skills. Malnutrition must also be addressed, as childhood stunting leads to irreversible neurological damage when children fail to reach expected height and development for their age.
Zeroing in on Palawan, the Department of Education has ranked the province eighth among those with struggling readers. Fifty-nine percent of early-grade students cannot read at their current level. No one has yet fully accounted for why this happened, but there are clues and evidence to examine.
Consider these related statistics. Ten of the province’s 23 municipalities are island communities dealing with poor infrastructure, unreliable power services, a lack of classrooms, and severe connectivity challenges. The EDCAP 2 report specifically pointed out that 118 public schools across Palawan have no electricity.
The Commission on Audit, particularly its latest 2024 audit, offers further clues. Puerto Princesa City alone has ₱240.3 million in unprogrammed Special Education Funds sitting idle. This represents 69 percent of the city’s total SEF. The provincial government, meanwhile, placed education funds in high-yield savings accounts instead of using them for actual programs. COA flagged this practice as a violation of financial regulations, even as the provincial government acknowledged it would stop.
This means that across Palawan, where schools have no electricity, children study by candlelight, if they study at all. Teachers photocopy worksheets at their own expense. They work near Piso WiFi outlets, now common in remote areas, just to download teaching materials and instructions. Parents end up paying for school utilities that the SEF should be covering. The money exists, but it earns interest in banks instead of lighting classrooms.
The COA 2024 report provides more detail for Puerto Princesa City. The Special Education Fund had an unprogrammed cash balance of ₱167,027,152.72 as of year-end, attributed to poor planning, low absorptive capacity, and weak fiscal management. SEF utilization in 2023 stood at only 51 percent. More than ₱44 million worth of approved 2022 projects remain unimplemented. A school building for San Miguel National High School was funded but never started. COA flagged the city’s SEF management as largely “inefficient and underutilized.”
As of the end of 2024, the city still had an unprogrammed cash balance of ₱167,027,152.72. This reflects poor planning and low absorptive capacity and represents missed opportunities to improve education services.
On the provincial government’s fund management, COA stated: “The practice of placing idle funds in time deposits, rather than using them for the implementation of SEF priority programs and projects, has been a recurring practice of the PGP and the Provincial Local School Board (PLSB) to this day. These funds have remained idle because the PLSB failed to appropriate them for the implementation of SEF PPAs in a timely and proper manner.” (COA Report 2024)
COA also reported that instead of being used for priority education projects, ₱250 million was invested in time deposits and ₱50 million in Treasury bills. The reason cited was the failure of the Provincial Local School Board to appropriate these funds for SEF programs. The provincial government’s SEF utilization rate stands at only 58 percent.
A review of the 20 percent Development Fund and SEF utilization showed that at least 14 SEF projects funded between 2015 and 2023, costing about ₱23.4 million, were reported as terminated, ordered for termination, or non-moving. These include classroom buildings at Paliisan Elementary School in Balabac, Buliluyan National High School in Bataraza, and San Jose Elementary School in Coron. In calendar year 2024, around ₱17 million worth of projects, including Bagong Bayan National High School in El Nido, had not yet started. (COA Report 2024)
In response to the COA findings, the Puerto Princesa City government said it would assess the specific needs of public schools and revise its three-year SEF Investment Plan based on the data. This is one promise that must be tracked.
For its part, Governor Amy Alvarez has said in recent speeches that the provincial government will do away with high-yield savings accounts. This is another commitment that requires monitoring.
We do not need Palawan’s teachers climbing flagpoles. We need efficient local government action to address this crisis. We need to track the promises made and demand compliance with the Commission on Audit’s recommendations. We need public accountability. Teacher Carol climbed that flagpole in ten seconds. The question now is how long it will take Palawan to do something equally basic.
