Teachers in debt due to insufficient sick leave and medical treatment benefits

During a Senate hearing on Wednesday, Jan. 25, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers’ (ACT) said that some teachers are in debt due to inadequacy of certain benefits such as sick leave and medical expenses.

In the meeting, Sen. Bong Revilla opened discussions to amend Republic Act No. 4670 or the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers.

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Ruby Bernardo, president of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers' (ACT) chapter in the National Capital Region asked the legislator and government to firmly implement and improve the provision granting free medical treatment to teachers.

Sa usapin po ng medical and free treatment doon sa mga teachers kasi nakalagay po iyan sa existing magna carta. Pero dahil wala nga pong ngipin, hindi po siya napapatupad,

she said

She also explained that when teachers get sick, they’re marked absent from work because they don't have a medical card which is one of the reasons why teachers are being buried in debt.

Meanwhile, Bernardo welcomed bills aimed to provide additional benefits for teachers that were discussed in the joint committee. This includes Senate Bill No. 564 granting teachers’ grocery, transportation allowance of P3,000 and medical allowance of P2,000.

She said the bill are favorable to teachers since they are only granted 15 service credits per year, which can be used to file leaves.

Wala po kaming sick leave. Kapag um-absent po kami, kaltas po iyan sa sahod namin,

she added.

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said it has yet to submit its official position paper, but it is conducting further study on granting additional grocery, transportation, and medical allowance to teachers.

An official position paper by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) is yet to be submitted. It said that it is currently conducting further study on additional grocery grants, transportation and medical allowance to teachers.

DepEd's Bureau of Human Resources and Organizational Development (BHROD), said the agency has been granting various allowances to teachers such as special hardship allowance for teachers in challenging areas.

It also said that DepEd has been proposing additional administrative positions to the DBM to relieve teachers from clerical tasks.

Revilla guaranteed that lawmakers would do their best to institutionalize their proposal on teaching supply or chalk allowance for teachers, raising it from P5,000 to P10,000.