Ang Pahayagan

A run-off election between the unions of Alliance of Concerned Teachers Region III Union (ACT Region III Union) and the Action and Solidarity for the Empowerment of Teachers – Central Luzon (ASSERT-CL) will be held on November to December, 2023 to be facilitated by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Region 3.

The run off schedule will be held in Central Luzon provinces on November 14 in Aurora and Tarlac; November 16 in Pampanga; November 23 in Bataan and Zambales; December 7 in Nueva Ecija and December 14 in Bulacan. The union representing the teachers of the Department of Education (DepEd) here in Central Luzon will be chosen among them.

Based on the Regional Memorandum Number 549 s. 2023. 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐦 𝐍𝐨.549 𝐬. 2023 signed by DepEd Regional Director May B. Eclar, there is a conduct of run-off election among the rank and file teaching personnel of the DepEd Region 3.

The said run-off election between the contending parties is within control and supervision of lawyer Erwin C. Angeles of the DOLE region 3 mediation-arbitration and legal service unit (MALSU) as the designated election officer.

It also stated that the winning party, through the simple majority, in this run-off election shall represent the regional teaching group during the conduct of collective negotiation agreement with management pursuant to executive order number 180, series of 1987 and subsequently issuances of the public sector labor-management council (PSLMC).

ASSERT Central Luzon President Arlene James S. Pagaduan recently announced in interviews in the media that they did not support any terrorist groups.

He said in SMNI, DWAY radio interview that since it was founded in 1997 the ASSERT is consistently pro-teachers. Posted also in the FB ASSERT fights for 4 actual teaching hours while ACT is for 6 teaching hours.

Pagaduan also highlighted the 2019 Certification Elections and the anticipated run-off election. In the 2019 Certification Election (CE), a series of elections took place between October and November 2019.

During this period, teachers were informed that they had three (3) options: (a) Alliance of Concerned Teachers Region III Union (ACT Region III Union); (b) Action and Solidarity for the Empowerment of Teachers – Central Luzon (ASSERT-CL); and (c) No Union. More than 90 thousand eligible voters were identified.

Out of this number, 73,699 individuals cast their votes, with 72,802 votes being deemed valid. According to the results, the ACT Region III Union secured 30,717 votes, accounting for 42.19% of the valid votes, while ASSERT-CL received 34,386 votes, representing 47.23% of the valid votes.

The third option, No Union, garnered 7,239 votes, while 897 votes were declared spoiled. Additionally, some highlights from the 2019 Certification results include (a) ACT Region III Union winning in two (2) provinces – Nueva Ecija and Tarlac; (b) ASSERT-CL winning in four (4) provinces – Aurora, Bulacan, Pampanga, and Zambales; and (c) No Union winning in one (1) province – Bataan.

According to the DOLE criteria for Certification Elections (CE), a labor union must secure a minimum of 50% plus one vote, which constitutes the majority of the valid votes cast, in order to be recognized as the representative of all employees.

Taking this into consideration, the Bureau of Labor Relations (BLR) under DOLE has determined that ASSERT-CL needs to achieve a total of 36,402 votes to be declared as the representative union through the Sole and Exclusive Negotiating Agent (SENA) process.

These results have led to the decision to proceed with conducting the run-off elections.

The ACT Region III Union is anticipated to continuously beef up its campaign activities to guarantee its winning bid to be the SENA for teachers in the region. It also believe that the security forces were the primary reason for their lost in 2019 CE. (Jason de Asis)