P977M Allowances for Public School Teachers with 'Hardship Posts'

Those public school teachers who haven't been paid for their hardship allowance last year would have now the opportunity to receive theirs.

Those teachers who are exposed to a risky or hazardous teaching working place would be receiving allowances anew as DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones approved the release of P977 million for their special allowances for "hardship posts" in a recent news.

These allowances are based on 15 to 25 percent of the basic salary of the teachers who are exposed to hardship or difficulty of work.

2016: A School Opening Like No Other

2016: A School Opening Like No Other (Day 32)

by Rey Laguda

(This is the  32nd day of 50-day journey of DepEd Undersecretary Rey Laguda as being serialized here with his permission, culled from his Facebook account - Blogger/owner)

News headlines can often dictate national discourse and consequently, perception. If we look carefully, there are seasonal topics that come out year on year. One such example is school opening. School Opening is always associated with problems - lack of classrooms, congested classrooms, lack of furniture, etc. Even if these do not represent the entire roster of 47,000 public schools, it doesn't matter to the undiscerning reader who allows himself/herself to be influenced by anecdotal experience and news angles.

Investing in Offices

Investing in Offices (Day 17)

by Rey Laguda

(This is the 17th day of 50-day journey of DepEd Undersecretary Rey Laguda as being serialized here with his permission, culled from his Facebook account - Blogger/owner)

The Department of Education (DepEd), being the biggest national government agency in terms of people, budget and geographic scope, needs to be a bureaucracy that works. Hierarchy and structure is a necessity considering the multiple programs that we implement in addition to participation in multi-agency efforts.

As such, DepEd is organized in terms of schools, division offices and regional offices. There are now 218 division offices each headed by a schools division superintendent and 18 regional offices each headed by a regional director. This includes 22 newly created division offices and one regional office.

Small Division Office of La Carlota City

Unlocking Value for Schools through Budgets (Day 5)

Unlocking value for schools through Budgets (Day 5)

by Rey Laguda

(This is the DepEd USec Rey Laguda's Day 5 of 50-day journey being serialized here with his permission, culled from his Facebook account. - Blogger/owner)

Public schools are fully funded by the Department of Education for its basic requirements. But there is also support that schools get from local government units through the Special Education Fund (SEF) and through private donations from individuals and groups.

Capital Outlay for schools would normally include classrooms, furniture, water and sanitation facilities, science and math equipment, and computers among others. Learning materials are also provided on an annual basis. In addition to this, schools are also provided budgets which are used to cover Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE). These school budgets are based on a formula that was revised in 2013 to incorporate a fixed cost component and variable cost components based on enrollment, the number of teachers, classrooms, and graduating students to arrive at a total figure for the school. In total, education spending per capita increased from P8,816 to P19,753.

Teachers' Salary Hike Retroactive January 1

The first tranche of the salary increase of teachers in public elementary and secondary is retroactive January 1, 2016. Then follow 2nd, 3rd and 4th tranches every year thereafter until 2019.

DepEd Order No. 12, series of 2016 entitled "Implementation of the first compensation adjustment for civilian personnel, and military and uniformed personnel in the national government" was issued and signed by DepEd Secretary Br. Armin A. Luistro on March 10, 2016.

The Order commands the Regional Directors and the Chief Administrative Officers of the Regional Finance Division to coordinate with their DBM counterparts on the early release of funds.

Moreover, the Undersecretary for Finance and Administration for Central Office, the Regional Director for Regional Office personnel, and the Schools Division Superintendents for Schools Division Office and school personnel are to approve the Notices of Salary Adjustments (NOSAs) to every personnel.

DBM: No Extra Bonuses for Government Employees in 2015

The Department of Budget Management (DBM) has clarified the issue on giving the national government employees of additional Php10,000 in bonuses this December 2015.

It is strongly denied by DBM that it is a false alarm which comes from a blog site article published by anonymous writer/owner sometime in 2011, four years ago.

The DBM site so clearly declares:

"There is no more additional holiday bonus that is due to be released to government workers by December 15. Please be informed that government employees have received the last half of their year-end bonus/13th month pay and cash gift in the amount of P5,000 by the middle of this month pursuant to DBM Circular 2015-1, which provides that the remaining half of the yearend bonus and the cash gift for 2015 shall be released not earlier than Nov. 15."

reference:

DBVM ADVISORY: "P10K ADDITIONAL HOLIDAY BONUS FOR GOV'T WORKERS A HOAX"