MANILA, Philippines - The Education secretary has agreed to review a controversial order on clothing allowance after militant teachers threatened to launch a fax and email campaign against new policy.

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) said Department of Education Secretary Jesli Lapus backtracked on his order and assured the teachers in a dialogue at the agency’s headquarters in Pasig City.

"I have instructed Undersecretary [for Finance Teodoro] Sangil to reconvene the committee and revise," he told the ACT delegation. The ACT posted his assurance on its website.

ACT earlier scored Lapus for ordering that a portion of the yearly clothing allowance of public school teachers be paid in kind rather than in cash.

Department of Education Order No. 76, issued Dec. 24, 2008, mandates that textiles for two sets of national uniforms be procured by DepEd central office and distributed to teachers.

The cost of the textiles will be deducted from the P4,000 clothing allowance to be given to public school teachers this April.

ACT had opposed the move, saying its members prefer to get the full amount of their allowance in cash and procure their uniforms themselves.

The ACT said the revision order stemmed from its letter to Lapus urging him to revise DepEd Order No. 76.

"We welcome the prompt response of Sec. Lapus to the clamor of teachers throughout the country," said ACT chairman Antonio Tinio.

He added that for their part, ACT members "will work with the National Uniform Committee to ensure that the revised clothing allowance policy will reflect teachers' preferences."

This includes not only payment of the allowance in cash, but also the prohibition of the practice of requiring teachers to buy cloth from a particular supplier designated by the regional office or school division, he said.

"Teachers should be allowed to make their own arrangements in regard to procurement," he added.

Tinio noted that Deped's nearly 500,000 personnel are set to acquire around P2 billion worth of new uniforms for 2009.

* Economy crises hits Philippines already. I have heard news already that some companies are already letting their employees forced to resign because they were affected with the global crises, as well as lots of unemployed still. It's really hard because how would one survive if they don't have any means in earning income to buy for their daily consumption. There is a great possibility that hold-ups would increase. Department of Education should not have allowed this bill approved, that instead of teachers receiving cash, it would be converted to textile. No wonder teacher's were against this, since they could use the money in buying their necessities. It's good that their complaint was heard and that the bill would be altered again for the teachers to receive monetary than textile. *