ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider DepEd clears decades-long promotion backlog under teacher career reform

DepEd clears decades-long promotion backlog under teacher career reform

Published Dec 22, 2025 04:47 pm
Teacher Nardito Dalman Tomampil Jr. of Santiago National High School in Iligan City, and Rebecca M. Macaiba of Manadapig Elementary School in Tabuk City, Kalinga, are among public school teachers advancing under the Expanded Career Progression (ECP), as the Department of Education continues to clear long-standing promotion backlogs nationwide.(DEPED PHOTOS)
Teacher Nardito Dalman Tomampil Jr. of Santiago National High School in Iligan City, and Rebecca M. Macaiba of Manadapig Elementary School in Tabuk City, Kalinga, are among public school teachers advancing under the Expanded Career Progression (ECP), as the Department of Education continues to clear long-standing promotion backlogs nationwide.(DEPED PHOTOS)
Long-standing promotion backlogs affecting generations of public school teachers are now being addressed following the implementation of the Expanded Career Progression (ECP) for Teachers, a reform that the Department of Education (DepEd) said is correcting structural delays in career advancement across the public education system.
DepEd said 16,000 teachers have already been officially promoted, with 41,000 more lined up under the ECP, marking a major step toward clearing promotion backlogs that have persisted for decades.
DepEd oversees a workforce of nearly 900,000 public school teachers nationwide, making promotion delays a system-wide issue that, for years, left many educators stuck in the same rank despite long service and expanding responsibilities.
The ECP was enacted through Republic Act No. 12288 and is being implemented under Education Secretary Sonny Angara to clear promotion backlogs, recognize actual classroom service, and ensure timely career progression for teachers in active service.
In recent months, DepEd said the reform has begun translating into concrete promotions nationwide, with thousands of teachers moving up in rank after years, sometimes decades, of waiting.
One of the beneficiaries, DepEd said, is Nardito Dalman Tomampil Jr., a science and values education teacher at Santiago National High School in Iligan City, who served for 27 years before seeing sustained career movement.
The agency said Tomampil began his teaching career as a Teacher I in 1998. Two years later, he was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa, which caused gradual vision loss. Despite the condition, he remained in the classroom, adapting his teaching methods while continuing to serve his students.
For years, however, his career rank remained unchanged, not because of performance issues, but due to limitations in the promotion system. His first promotion came only in 2021, when he advanced to Teacher II, more than two decades after entering service.
Under the ECP, DepEd said Tomampil was promoted to Teacher IV in 2025, joining more than 500 teachers in the Division of Iligan City whose years of service were matched with career advancement under the reform.
Similar cases were reported in other regions, including the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), where teachers also experienced prolonged stagnation prior to the reform.
In Tabuk City, Kalinga, Teacher Rebecca M. Macaiba remained a Teacher III for 19 years while serving at Manadapig Elementary School. Under the ECP, she was promoted to Teacher VI—a three-step advancement—marking a significant departure from the previous pace of career movement.
Per DepEd, the reform is designed to prevent similar stagnation for future teachers as the government moves to institutionalize timely promotion based on service and performance.
In President Marcos’ 2024 State of the Nation Address, he said the goal is to end career stagnation in the public education system.
He said the policy seeks to end situations where public school teachers retire without progressing beyond Teacher I.
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.