THE barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections were held last week with public school teachers manning the voting precincts nationwide. In some places, they encountered problems involving personal security, legal issues, and risks of intimidation and violence, not to mention long hours and arduous working conditions.
For these, the teachers were paid a few thousand pesos in travel allowance and honorarium, with the latter still to be received. Since teachers mostly have families and children to take care of, and with the annual opening of classes nearing, they need the money now and may again be tempted to avail themselves of loans from DepEd-accredited private lending institutions.
A congressman – Rep. Rodel Batocabe of Ako Bicol party-list – has urged the Department of Education to go easy on endorsing or accrediting these lenders, because our teachers nationwide are already saddled with debts paid through salary deductions, with penalty fees and service charges.
It is said that in Region 5 alone, where Batocabe is from, many teachers make do with only P1,000 remaining in their pay envelopes after loan payment deductions are made. Bicol teachers owe P97 billion in outstanding obligations, Batocabe said. The national total a whopping P300 billion.
President Duterte said in one of his speeches that he is working for increases in the salaries of teachers. But this will take a while and congressional action is needed. The Department of Education should, in the meanwhile, heed Batocabe’s suggestion.
The congressman called for the strict implementation of Republic Act 4670, the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers, Section 21 of which aims to protect teachers by prohibiting excessive deductions from their monthly pay-slips unless, authorized by law.
