The Department of Education (DepEd) will soon release the year-end bonus of its personnel which is equivalent to one-month salary and another P5,000 cash gift as it also prepares to release funding for emergency loans for DepEd personnel affected by the series of typhoons that hit the country.
Education Secretary Leonor Briones said they will expedite the process of benefits for their staff and will facilitate smoother coordination with the corresponding agencies.
“Recently, we are making headway in helping our personnel in getting the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and other private lending institutions' calamity loan,” she said.
Briones added that voluntary contributions from officials and staff of the central office and regional and division offices “have been pouring in to help our fellow Filipinos recover from these calamities and were subsequently sent directly to the most affected schools.”
She said she directed all field offices, through their regional directors, to submit a list of teachers and personnel who were affected by the recent typhoons and flooding.
“These lists will be utilized to fully assist our people in need during these times,” Briones said.
After an initial backlash over her advice to typhoon victims to hang up wet modules and iron them out to dry, Briones said the department will release additional funding for the “reproduction or replacement” of damaged self-learning modules.
Funds are also available to provide hygiene kits and psychosocial first aid to affected members of the public school community. The funds can also be used to conduct clean-up drives in the affected schools.
DepEd officials previously met with division superintendents and school heads in typhoon-hit Bicol region to come up with strategic solutions on minimizing damages to educational facilities during calamities.
Education Undersecretary Alain Del Pascua disclosed DepEd’s plan to meet with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for redesigning school buildings and ensuring quality materials are used for construction.
DepEd engineers are scheduled to submit assessment reports of damaged schools by November 30 in order to push their reconstruction early next year.