MANILA -- All newly-hired public school teachers have been paid for the period of January to March 2019, an official of the Department of Education (DepEd) said Monday.
"We're just responding to a news article last week that around 74 to 100 of our newly-hired teachers have not been paid. We validated with our regions, there are teachers of this number who have not been paid, but they have been paid now," DepEd Undersecretary for Finance-Budget and Performance Monitoring Annalyn Sevilla said in a press conference in Quezon City.
Sevilla cited that there is no funding allocation for the 100,000 newly-hired teachers as the agency was only given a funding allocation of 2018 level.
"We're doing some internal adjustments with our divisions and schools to pay them even though these teachers don't have funding cover. That's why it's important for us to have the 2019 GAA because it is higher in funding allocation," she said.
To ensure that these teachers get paid, Sevilla said DepEd offices have been doing some internal arrangements.
"For example, we won't pay for items that are not yet due. For example, in personnel services, maybe there are savings because there are those who didn't come to work, that would become salary deductions to existing funding level. For example, those who took a leave, resigned and retired, so that would be additional funds for us to work around," she said.
However, Sevilla stressed that such measure is only temporary.
"If this will happen for the whole year, then, there's really a big problem for DepEd because we are also higher new ones. We will have 80,000 additional positions for this year and that is also covered under the 2019 budget," she said.
Sevilla added that DepEd has yet to release teachers' allowances - clothing allowance, productivity enhancement benefit, mid-year bonus - before the end of second quarter.
"As of end of March, we're okay, but the problem is April, if this will continue, many of the payments that we have set aside will be due and demandable by April and we can no longer have another adjustment," she said.
All DepEd personnel are also waiting for the differential of the fourth tranche salary increase, Sevilla added.
"There's also the cash allowance which must be released before the school year starts in June. This amounts to PHP 3,500 which teachers use to augment school supplies provided by DepEd schools," she said.
The government is currently operating on a reenacted budget since January 1 this year as Congress has yet to submit to the Palace the enrolled copy of the PHP3.757-trillion 2019 national budget.
The Department of Budget and Management has earlier recommended to Malacañang the issuance of an executive order to implement the fourth tranche of salary hike for state workers pending the passage of the 2019 national budget. (PNA)
