The Department of Education (DepEd) was urged to “follow through” on Malacañang’s recent pronouncement that it will initiate a dialogue with the group regarding teachers’ call for P1,500 monthly internet allowance.
The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines on Wednesday, Nov. 3, called on DepEd to hold a dialogue with its members. The group lamented that its requests for dialogue on the matter “have not been granted” by DepEd.
The group expressed hope that the statement made by Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque will signal a “change of heart” for DepEd --- especially in light of reports that the DepEd 349 sim has “expired.”
“In mid-February, we submitted a petition to Malacañang for P1,500 monthly internet allowance, signed by over 15,000 public school teachers,” said ACT Secretary General Raymond Basilio.
Basilio added that soon after, ACT received correspondence that our petition was forwarded to DepEd.
“We’ve since sent several other letters to DepEd bearing various concerns of teachers and the education sector as a whole, including the provision of the said internet allowance—all with requests for dialogue but, unfortunately, these have not been granted,” he added.
Basilio noted that while Roque’s statement was inaccurate, “we do hope that DepEd is at least preparing to hold a dialogue with us on our long-standing call for P1,500 internet allowance.”
ACT said that so far, it has only received two responses from the DepEd regarding demand for internet allowance.
In a separate statement issued by DepEd on Nov. 3, the agency said that it has “proactively requested” the Commission on Audit (COA) and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) in 2020 for the possibility of granting internet allowance in cash which will require almost P18 billion.
READ:
https://mb.com.ph/2021/11/03/p18-billion-needed-to-grant-internet-cash-allowance-for-teachers-deped/
DepEd, however, maintained that under its current budget, there is “no existing legal basis and fund cover” for such monthly internet or connectivity allowance.
Citing Commission on Audit (COA) Circular No. 2013-003, DepEd said that “all payments without legal basis will be disallowed in audit” by the Commission.