A teachers’ group on Monday, July 8, reiterated its call for the Department of Education (DepEd) to immediately “clarify and suspend” the implementation of the Results-Based Performance Management System (RPMS) for the School Year (SY) 2023-2024.
“Urgent concern po ng mga guro, up to now kasi walang any sort of clarification ang DepEd Central Office kung tuloy o hindi (The teachers have an urgent concern because, up to now, there has been no clarification from the DepEd Central Office on whether it will proceed or not),” TDC National Chairperson Benjo Basas told reporters in a Viber message.
“May kalituhan at kaguluhan sa field because of this (There is confusion and chaos in the field because of this),” he added.
Basas added that for almost a month, DepEd's silence has left the field “gripped with confusion and conflict between teachers and school administrators.”
TDC, Basas explained, has already sent two letters requesting clarification and the official position of the DepEd regarding the submission of RPMS documents such as the Individual Performance Commitment and Review Form (IPCRF) and the Office Performance Commitment and Review Form (OPCRF) on June 23 and July 4.
Despite its earnest requests that DepEd “relax or entirely suspend” the implementation of the IPCRF/OPCRF for the school year 2023-2024, Basas said that “there has been no reply” yet.
Basas said TDC’s demand to halt the RPMS in the DepEd is in line with Executive Order No. 61, which was signed by President Marcos on June 3 and suspends the Results-Based Performance Management System (RBPMS) and the Performance-Based Incentive System (PBIS) in government work.
“Although the suspension takes effect in June 2024, Section 5 of the Order specifies that fiscal year 2023 is a transition year for the Performance-Based Bonus (PBB), an incentive closely related to the RPMS and PBIS,” Basas said.
TDC also argued that “relaxing or completely suspending” the IPCRF and OPCRF for school employees for SY 2023-2024, which form the basis of the PBB 2023, is “justified.”
Moreover, the group cited a memorandum released by the Office of Undersecretary Wilfredo Cabral on February 22 stating that this week only falls under Phase III of the RPMS cycle of DepEd.
These points, TDC said, “justify the need to suspend” the implementation of RPMS in DepEd for SY 2023-2024 and await the results of the TWG review under EO 61.
“The RPMS-IPCRF issue has caused a lot of confusion among our field personnel. Conflicting claims and instructions have only worsened the situation,” Basas said.
The TDC hoped for an “immediate response” from the DepEd to address this pressing concern --- especially since teachers are now already occupied with many tasks related to the National Learning Camp, enrollment period, Palarong Pambansa, Brigada Eskwela, and other tasks associated with the opening of the next school year.