October 26, 2020 – The Department of Education has released funds allotted for the Annual Medical Examination (AME) and World Teachers’ Day Incentive Benefit (WTDIB) of public school teachers, according to Undersecretary for Finance Annalyn Sevilla.

During the Handang Isip, Handa Bukas press conference on Friday, Undersecretary Sevilla reported that the AME of Php500.00 per teacher and the WTDIB of Php1,000.00 per teacher were released by the Central Office last September 16 and 18, 2020, respectively.

“But we have to understand na marami po sa atin mga kasamahan na mga guro na maraming nagtatanong kung bakit iba ay nakatanggap, yung iba ay hindi pa. Kasi po ang proseso ng pagrelease nito ay dadaan sa kanilang payroll. So ibig sabihin, from Central Office on September 16 and September 18, [makakarating muna] ng Regional Office, to their Division Office, then to their payroll,” Usec. Sevilla said.

The Department has also shared that the October 2020 payroll has been expedited as per the instruction of Secretary Leonor Magtolis-Briones.

Usec. Sevilla shared that as of October 22, almost 90% of the total salaries have been paid, issued, and released in the payroll account and the remaining 10% attributed to those that are still in process.

“Dati po ng mga nakaraang buwan, mas maaga po iyan kaya lang nagkaroon po tayo ng mga adjustments in the payroll system dahil yung pong mga loan payments has been implemented. Nagkaroon po tayo ng gap o moratorium or grace period depende sa kung anong in-allow ng lending institution kaya mas malaki ang net take home pay kasi po magpapahinga po sa pagbabayad ng loan for the next 60 days,” Usec. Sevilla said.

Meanwhile, Sevilla also mentioned that the latest budget proposal for the 2021 National Expenditure Program (NEP) was approved in the Second Reading of the House of Representatives last October 15, 2020.  DepEd 2021 proposed budget is now up for approval in the Senate, then the Bicameral Session.

She also reported that the Department’s targeted budget request of Php1.1 trillion was trimmed to Php605.7 billion (55%) from its initial request.

“[Although] all of those things [are] beyond our term, we are constantly reminding our Congress, which passes the appropriations law, that the future [of education] is not only 2022, the future is beyond that,” DepEd Secretary Leonor Magtolis-Briones said.

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