Teachers’ group asked DepEd for swift release of delayed benefits and communication expenses of teachers

On Tuesday, The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) has asked the Department of Education (DepEd) to do everything in their power to hasten the release of delayed communication expenses and benefits of teachers.

In the letter that ACT wrote, addressed to Education Secretary Leonor Briones dated Jan. 12, numerous complaints were received by ACT from teachers who have not received the compensation of their communication expenses. Some even got incomplete amounts.

DepEd Order No. 38 which was released last November 2020 cites that any DepEd personnel may claim a reimbursement for communication expenses sustained from March to December 2020 worth P300 per month.

ACT Secretary General Raymond Basilio said teachers have not fully benefitted from the reimbursement due to insufficient school funds, strict and unreasonable requirements, poor information distribution about the order, and lack of uniform implementation of the order on the ground.

It is unfair enough of the government to make the teachers shoulder the distance learning expenses for so many months while they themselves struggle to survive the pandemic,

Basilio said.

He even added that it is ‘too insulting’ for teachers to experience ‘tedious and unreasonable’ process of refunding for just a small amount of compensation.

DepEd is also urged by Basilio to release the Performance-Based Bonus (PBB) 2019 and the Service Recognition Incentive (SRI) 2020 that “have been delayed” for a long time.

Basilio ended his letter saying that the education workers have endure enough, shouldering tiresome burdens for education continuity and hopes that in the year 2021, the government will fulfill its rightful duty to its teachers.