TEACHERS TO GOV’T: RELEASE ‘ONE-MONTH SALARY’ BONUS ON JUNE 1

TEACHERS TO GOV’T: RELEASE ‘ONE-MONTH SALARY’ BONUS ON JUNE 1

May 27, 2015

Public school teachers under the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) and Ating Guro Partylist ask the government to release the productivity enhancement incentive (PEI) to teachers and government employees on June 1, 2015. Under Executive Order (EO) 181, the PEI for this year amounting to either P5000 or equivalent to one-month salary shall be released not earlier than June 1, 2015. They also want to clarify whether the Department of Education (DepEd) has complied the requirements to entitle its employees to an equivalent to one-month salary or only the minimum of P5000.

“The government’s PR team says that the PEI is equivalent to one-month salary and will be released by June. There must be some clarifications on this so as not to confuse the teachers and employees and the general public.” Benjo Basas, TDC national chairperson said.

Basas said that their group recognizes this progress which he said “at least the DBM and Malacanang considered our appeal that the PEI should not be pegged at P5000.”

The TDC and Ating Guro members staged a series of protests last year asking the government to junk the controversial performance-based bonus (PBB) and instead grant a higher PEI for its teachers and employees. The PEI and PBB are incentives given to government employees that are dependent on their individual and agency performance. Both incentives are part of the performance-based incentive system under the Salary Standardization Law-3 (SSL-3) that traditionally given at the end of every fiscal year.

Arsenio Jallorina, Ating Guro Partylist chairman however said that the PEI should be equally distributed to benefit all the employees and not be given in varied amount.

“The performance requirements are for the agencies, and the rank and file employees have no control on the affairs of the agencies. There would be injustice if some of the employees would only be given a P5000 while others will receive an amount equivalent to their one month salary.” He said.

Both groups ask the DBM to immediately clarify the matter through guidelines to implement E0 181 and release the bonus to employees on June 1. 

“Most teachers are parents as well and during this time of the year, we are burdened by school opening expenses for our children and dependents, not to mention our own preparation for our respective classrooms, instructional materials and such teaching necessities that the government fails to provide. ” Basas ended.