Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte on Thursday, Jan. 25, announced the establishment of a Calamity Fund for public school teachers to provide them with immediate financial assistance during disaster situations.

(Photo courtesy of DepEd / File Photo / MANILA BULLETIN)

Duterte made the announcement during the Department of Education’s (DepEd) 2024 Basic Education Report (BER) held at the Sofitel Manila in Pasay City.

“Sa ating mga mahal na guro at mga kawani, hindi po kami titigil sa paghahanap ng mga paraan at paglalatag ng mga polisiya upang tugunan ang mga isyu ukol sa net take-home pay ninyo (To our beloved teachers and personnel, we will not stop from finding ways and crafting policies to address issues about your net take-home pay),” she said, adding that DepEd will soon issue the Employee Welfare and Well-being Policy guidelines.

“We will be establishing a Calamity Fund that will provide immediate financial assistance to our teachers and personnel in times of disaster,” she also said.

However, the official also understands the financial burden caused by medical emergencies.

“Thus, we will also propose and fervently move for the amendment of an Administrative Order that will allow us to finally provide health insurance for our teachers and non-teaching personnel,” she said.

Currently, public school teachers have access to a Personal Accident Insurance policy, which was launched in partnership with the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS).

The Vice President earlier reported that the said insurance policy has a coverage of up to P100,000 for accidental death or dismemberment and up to P30,000 per year for medical reimbursement due to injuries sustained in accidents.

DepEd is also set to issue its policy on Teaching Overload Pay because “we want to ensure that our teachers are rightfully compensated for hours of actual classroom teaching beyond the six-hour limit provided under the Magna Carta for teachers.”

Duterte announced as well plans to give teachers overload and overtime pay because non-teaching tasks performed outside regular working hours are only compensated with service credits.

She said the agency will include overtime pay in its proposed budget for “the next budget cycle” and will increase the current 15-day service credit cap to “at least 30 days.”

“DepEd is also aware of the concerns regarding the Continuing Professional Development or CPD,” the official said, sharing that it is working with the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) for the streamlining of the accreditation process for all DepEd-National Educators Academy of the Philippines (DepEd-NEAP) Professional Development programs across all governance levels.

“With this, our teachers will not have to absorb additional financial burden for CPD units,” she added, referring to the required credit units acquired from professionals’ participation to educational and learning activities that enhance their competencies.

CPD units are required for the renewal of professional licenses, such as teaching.

Among the attendees of BER 2024 were President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., other high-ranking government officials, diplomats, education partners, and DepEd officials.