Minister Mohagher Iqbal of the Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. (Photo courtesy of MBHTE-BARMM)
COTABATO CITY – Bangsamoro Region in Muslim Mindanao's (BARMM) chief education official has clarified that delays in the salaries of teachers in Maguindanao were “unintentional”.
Minister Mohagher Iqbal of the Ministry of Basic, Higher, and Technical Education (MBHTE)-BARMM admitted that teachers' salaries from Maguindanao division 1 and 2 have been delayed.
“No matter how we tried, sometimes salaries of teachers are delayed, this is not intentional,” Iqbal said in a statement Friday.
Iqbal explained that because of BARMM’s transition from the defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), programs and projects of the MBHTE were delayed.
Likewise, he said the implementation of programs and delivery of basic services under the Bangsamoro Development and Transition Plan was "greatly affected" by the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
"By 2021, we will have the budget, surely the salaries will no longer be delayed,” he assured.
MBHTE-BARMM records indicated that teachers have yet to fully receive their salaries since August this year.
Iqbal said the hiring of teachers from the Division of Sulu, which was supposed to happen in October, was postponed due to unexpected circumstances where some of the staff tested positive for Covid-19. (PNA)
