MANILA -- Teachers, who got less than PHP 4,000 take-home pay for their October salary, will receive the remainder through ATM on Monday, the Department of Education (DepEd) said.
This came after Education Secretary Leonor Briones signed on Oct. 26 DepEd Order (DO) 55 or the "Revised guidelines on the Implementation of PHP4,000 Net Home Pay for DepEd Personnel".
Under the said order, loan deductions due for Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and the Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF) will be prioritized.
DepEd recognized that the net pay may increase or decrease, depending on the GSIS and HDMF deductions. However, DO 55 assures that teachers' net pay will not go lower than PHP4,000.
The signing of the DO 55 aims to help teachers manage their finances after data showed that many of them avail of various loans.
Teachers from across the country have incurred PHP178 billion worth of loans from private institutions, based on DepEd's records.
This is also the reason why DepEd constantly finds measures to protect teachers from financial and legal implications of non-payment of debts.
Briones earlier expressed her desire for teachers to be financial literate.
She emphasized that financial literacy is very important because when she came in as DepEd chief, the total debt of teachers is PHP120 billion.
"After one year, it has reached PHP170 billion. So something has to be done," she told the Philippine News Agency in a previous interview.
Briones also cited that private institutions start to entice teachers to borrow money from day 1, even if their employment papers have not yet been issued. (PNA)
