Deped urged to revise order on personnel’s net take home

RECEIVING reports from public school teachers asking to suspend implementation of the Deped Order Nos. 12 and 27, S. 2017 (Implementation of P4,000.00 Net Take Home Pay for Department of Education Personnel), I urge the Department of Education to find ways on how to reduce the debt burden of teachers because of the interest and penalties on their salary loans.

In the 2017 General Appropriations Act (GAA) there is Section 47 of the Special Provisions setting at P4,000.00 the net take home pay limit for all government employees to protect them against excessive salary deductions that diminish their take home pay. The proposed GAA for 2018 raises this net take home pay limit to P6,000.

However, some teachers ignore this rule and still incur loans, so because of the 2017 GAA, which is a law, teachers incur more interest and penalties because of salary loan payments that could not be deducted because of the net take home pay rule in the law.

Teachers who request anonymity sent their report and sentiments through our party-list’s official Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/edukasyonparty/

The Department of Education should do much more than simply issue department orders about those loans that many teachers keep incurring from private lending institutions. In-service training of teachers MUST include intensive formal briefings on financial literacy and managing personal finances.

Simple reminders to public school teachers to “ensure that they have the capacity to pay loans being applied for” would have very little effect on a teacher who has lots of bills and debts to pay. Also likely with minimal effect are advisories stating authorized approving officers “must be stringent in certifying or providing confirmation with the GSIS on the NTHP of their DepEd personnel.”

“The AAOs shall educate the DepEd personnel on the consequences of applying for loans with various private lending institutions (PLIs) without considering their capacity to pay,” is a very general directive. These approving officers often see their roles are ministerial or simple formality.

- Representative Salvador B. Belaro, Jr.

1-Ang Edukasyon Party-list Assistant Majority Leader