June 24, 2022

NORMA B. SAMANTELA, CESO VI

School Division Superintendent
Schools Division of Albay
DepEd Albay Division Office, Ligñon Hill, Bogtong, Legazpi City

Thru ________________
School Principal
Anopol Elementary School
Anopol, Polangui, Albay

Madam:

Greetings of peace and goodwill!

We are writing this letter in response to the Division Memorandum No. 95, S. 2022,
issued on June 10, 2022. We would like to impart to our institution, the provision of
Republic Act 11525 Section 12, stating that “vaccinated individuals are not considered
immune from Covid-19”. And under Section 1 of Bill of rights, we are claiming our right
for equal protection of the laws.

We hereby strongly assert our right to not undergo a twice-a-month Antigen/RT-PCR

testing at our own expense for the following reasons:

1. The twice-a-month regular Antigen/RT-PCR testing will take a considerable amount

from our finances, threatening our family’s budget and is clearly a form of economic
attack on our being and a form of an indirect coercion/force, resorting to taking the
COVID-19 experimental vaccine.

2. Our life shall be put to risk of possible untoward incident which may happen during
our travel just to get the Antigen/RT-PCR test twice a month.

3. This RT-PCR/Antigen Testing requirement for the unvaccinated personnel only

becomes irreconcilable due the exclusion of the vaccinated, therefore does not place
us to equal footing in the terms of Art. Sec. 11 of the Philippine Constitution and of
the R.A. 4670 of the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers, which remains valid
and effective (regardless of the public health emergency). The Magna Carta
provides:

“Section 10. No Discrimination. There shall be no discrimination whatsoever in

entrance to the teaching profession, or in the termination of services, based on other
than professional consideration.”

Requiring vaccination or a negative RT-PCR test from unvaccinated teachers (i) is

not based on professional consideration, and (ii) is discrimination in the exercise of
the teaching profession by public school teachers, both of which are expressly
prohibited by R.A. 4670. It may do well for the Honorable Secretary, as well as the
DepEd officials implementing such discriminatory policies, to note that the Magna
Carta also provides:

“Section 32. Penal Provision. A person who shall willfully interfere with, restrain
or coerce any teacher in the exercise of his rights guaranteed by this Act or
who shall in any other manner commit any act to defeat any of the provisions
of this Act shall, upon conviction be punished by a fine of not less than one
thousand pesos, or by imprisonment, in the discretion of the court.”

“If the offender is a public official, the court shall order his dismissal from the
Government service.”
4. RT-PCR/ Antigen Testing is an intrusive, violative of Constitutional provision on
unreasonable searches and seizures, discriminatory and violative of equal protection
clause, dangerous as these tests may break the blood brain barrier, especially if
done regularly. There are also reports that these tests may be used in harvesting
DNA samples and may be used to put vaccines in the body. There has been news
on oral vaccines, so this idea is not farfetched.

5. The RT-PCR test has already been discontinued by the US CDC because it could not
distinguish between flu and covid. In the case of the antigen test, there are poison
control issues warning on COVID-19 antigen tests.

When the government has invoked the exercise of Police power to protect the right to
health, it should also be noted that the exercise of police power must employ
reasonable means toward a reasonable end, it must be exercised without grave abuse
of discretion, and must use means that are least restrictive of fundamental
Constitutional rights.

We recognize the fact that you are just following the instruction given to you by the
higher office, we would like to plead with you, to understand that we are just protecting
ourselves from any harm by complying to any discriminatory administrative or executive
acts, orders and regulations which are contrary to the laws and constitution based on
the Article VII of the Civil Code of the Philippines, the Nuremberg Code of 1947 and the
1987 Philippine Constitution.

We are putting our humble request to you, Ma’am, in writing, to not to submit
respectfully to the RT-PCR/Antigen Testing, not unless we manifest COVID-19
symptoms.

Thank you so much for your time to ponder on this humble letter. We would like to end
this letter with a quote from St. Padre Pio, “Walk the way of the Lord in simplicity: do not
torment your spirit. Speak the truth, always the truth.”

Very respectfully yours,

ROSALINDA B. SABANAL
Teacher I
Anopol Elementary School

NERIH B. BODINO
Teacher III
Anopol Elementary School