THE 2019 BUDGET DILEMMA

MELANIE S. BERRAME

Have you read the news that pending the approval of the 2019 budget, there might not be enough funds for newly-hired teachers?

Is this not sad news for our colleagues, particularly the 80,000 teaching positions to be filled in this coming school year?

The Department of Education (DepEd) earlier expressed this concern since the Department is currently operating under a reenacted budget. If the 2019 budget is not approved then there will be no source of funding for newly hired teachers, since the 2018 budget does not include funds for this.

But will the hiring of the additional teachers still push through despite this predicament?

According to the DepEd, it will still happen even if the 2019 budget was not approved. It turns out that there is a “special purpose fund” under the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) called the “Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund (MPBF) which can be tapped for this purpose.

While the 80,000 teaching positions will remain open, the number of personnel to be hired “will depend on the funding availability” after the adjustment made by the DBM.

Despite this, however, the DepEd is confident that the 80,000 positions will remain open. According to the news, the DBM had assured DepEd that it can continue the hiring.

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The author is Master Teacher II at Mabayuan Elementary School, Olongapo City