Amid the challenges brought by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the Department of Education (DepEd) implemented 96 percent of its total funds.

DepEd, in a statement issued Tuesday, Jan. 11, said that it was determined to maintain its 96 percent budget utilization rate (BUR) as part of its commitment to provide further support to field offices and schools nationwide.

“For 2021, we are aiming to maintain 96 percent or even surpass 97 percent for BUR,” DepEd Undersecretary for Finance Annalyn Sevilla said.

Sevilla also congratulated and thanked the officials and personnel of the agency for making this possible.

“When other departments suspended and even stopped , DepEd continued to operate despite 2020 being a COVID year. In 2020, we were able to implement 96 percent of our total funds,” she explained in a mix of English and Filipino.

DepEd recorded an eight-percent increase in BUR --- from 88 percent in 2015 to 96 percent in 2020.

This, DepEd said, was higher compared to the past administration.

Sevilla attributed this achievement to the simplification of public financial management processes and decentralization of fund management which promotes accountability, transparency, and competency as funds are being downloaded to the regional, division, and implementing schools.

“Thank you to our accountants, budget officers, and of course to our admin and cash officers because we continued to receive our salaries, allowances, and benefits,” Sevilla said.

Even when Metro Manila was under Enhance Community Quarantine (ECQ) or Modified ECQ (MECQ), Sevilla said the employees of DepEd received their benefits. “The salaries were processed, in fact, we even processed the others in advance,” she added.

Meanwhile, DepEd noted that the Lower house and Senate have extended the implementation period of the 2021 Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) and capital outlay budget until December 2022.

DepEd said that the GAA 2022 also increased the MOOE capitalization threshold from P15,000 to P50,000 which will redefine the use of school MOOE.

The agency said that such would benefit the schools because they can now procure higher quality gadgets or needed equipment for the limited face-to-face classes.

In her year-end report, Sevilla also noted the other gains such as the establishment of technical working groups and the institutionalization of the delivery unit Education Program Management Office (EPMO).

She also cited DepEd’s partnership with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the National Quincentennial Committee (NQC), and the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP).

Other notable accomplishments, she said, include the recommendation of a new employee uniform, submission of Performance-Based Bonus (PBB) 2020, enhancement of automatic payroll deduction system program, improvements on GSIS Financial Assistance Loan, and waiver of interest rates.

Meanwhile, DepEd said that the OUF plans to increase the provident fund loan limit from P100,000 to P200,000, decentralize approval of loans to the Schools Division Office (SDO) level.

The establishment of a new PF that will allow personal contribution and give more benefits to employees is also underway, DepEd added.