Reimbursement of communication expenses The Scribe’s Corner

DEPARTMENT of Education (DepEd) Sec retary Leonor Briones issued DepEd Or der No. 38 s. of 2020 that provides the guidelines authorizing the payment of communication expenses of DepEd personnel relative to the implementation of the alternative work arrangements for the year 2020.

According to the report released by DepEd and was published in leading newspapers nationwide, the guidelines for reimbursing communication expenses will retroactively take effect starting March 16, 2020, until December 16, 2020, or a period that covered a total of nine months.

The issuance covers both teaching and nonteaching personnel of the DepEd, who are allowed to reimburse up to 300 per month for the communication expenses incurred while they are working at home during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Secretary Briones noted that the payment of communication expenses that included mobile and internet expense of DepEd personnel under a work-from-home (WFH) arrangement will be reimbursed in the said period “subject to submission of pertinent documents for reimbursement.”

According to the Secretary, the amount that may be reimbursed shall not exceed P300 per month. This is to be certified by the authorized claimant as actual expenses incurred in connection with the discharge of their official functions and are necessary to support the operations of the agency amidst the pandemic.

Consequently, the DepEd chief also directed heads of offices (central, regions, divisions, schools and learning centers) to “issue a certification,” which identifies their personnel who were authorized to claim reimbursement of communication expenses. Further, they also need to affirm that these expenses “were incurred in the performance of their official duties and responsibilities.”

As support to the issued certification by the head of office, the DepEd employees who wish to reimburse their communication expenses are also required to submit “proof of purchase or payment,” such as official receipts for the purchase of the prepaid load, payment of postpaid line or internet subscription under their name. Aside from the said evidence as support, they may also submit scanned copies or screenshots of confirmation of mobile e-load bearing the reference number and mobile number of the claimant as support.

However, DepEd noted that the claims for reimbursement of communication expenses – for both mobile and Internet load applicable to multiple networks – of the personnel under the WFH set-up shall be “based on the actual amount of expenses incurred” but will not exceed P300 per month. The issuance provides that charges in excess of this monthly ceiling, if any, shall be shouldered by the personnel concerned.

It could be noted that without face-to-face interaction, students and their parents under the distance learning set-up are allowed to communicate with the teachers—through calls, text messages, or by sending emails, online messages— for school-related concerns.