A group on Friday, Dec. 16, urged the authorities to conduct an “independent and thorough” investigation on the alleged maternity leave scam.
“No stone should be left unturned for the whole truth to be brought to light,” the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines said in a statement. The group is referring to the alleged scam exposed by an official of the Department of Education (DepEd) Taguig-Pateros school division office.
As reported by DepED TaPat, some teachers have filed for maternity leave up to 11 times in a span of three years.
For ACT, it is “unimaginable” for a regular public school teacher to have masterminded and executed such a racketeering act.
“It is practically gambling his/her job, reputation and whole future, which no one would dare lose, especially amid the severe economic crisis,” the group said.
ACT said that if “ever there is truth to this,” it is also “impossible” for a teacher to do it single-handedly.
The group said that many personnel, including officials, might be responsible or involved in successfully claiming maternity leave benefits.
“We should get to the bottom of the matter and find the brains behind this scam and bring before the law all those who benefited from this,” the group added.
Meanwhile, the DepED has also directed the creation of a fact-finding team to investigate an alleged scam according to the agency's spokesman.