TDC Rejoinders to Sec. BRIONES

Teachers’ Dignity Coalition
“Unity of Teachers to Regain the Dignity of Teaching Profession”
SEC Registration Number: CN 2007-10645
Diam cor. Gen. T. De Leon, Valenzuela City
Telefax (02)4446564 • Mobile: 0916-6126739
Email: teachersdignity@yahoo.com.ph • Website: http://www.teachersdignity.com/


MEDIA RELEASE
October 24, 2017

   TDC’s Rejoinder to Sec. Briones*

*Sec. Leonor Magtolis-Briones’ reaction on the earlier statements from TDC and other groups on the matter of the abrupt deductions made by the DepEd in their salaries was published in a news report from the Manila Bulletin, October 24, 2017 quoting her in a forum with press people, Kapihan sa Manila, October 23

SLMB: “Teachers, themselves, know that they are over borrowing and they know that they’re at their limits and that the only reason they get P4,000 net is the GSIS loans are not being deducted,” Briones, Professor Emeritus, National College of Public Administration and Governance of the University of the Philippines, explained.

TDC: If a teacher reached the limits, then why the DepEd thru the respective Authorized Approving Officers (AAO) of the field offices allowed and approved the loan application? The pay slip of a loan applicant will be assessed and the AAO will determine if the teacher or any borrower has the capacity to pay the loan amortization. That means if the monthly salary of a teacher will be reduced to less than the mandated NTHP, then it should not be approved. The DepEd thru its RPSUs are tasked to collect the monthly loan amortization for the GSIS and for other PLIs, then they are at fault of the collections were not made.

Clearly it is a violation of the DepEd’s own rulesstipulated in DepEd Order No. 38 itself:
“The DepEd Authorized Approving Officers (AAOs) must be stringent in certifying or providing confirmation with the GSIS on the NTHP of their DepEd personnel.  The AAOs shall educate the DepEd personnel on the consequences of applying for loans with various private lending institutions (PLIs) without considering their capacity to pay.  Every day of delay on payment of loans shall mean imposition of penalties and accrued interests by the PLIs and the GSIS.
The role of the AAO for GSIS loans is to provide confirmation that DepEd borrowers have sufficient NTHP before their respective loans are granted by the GSIS”
SLMB: Contrary to TDC’s claims, Briones said teachers are informed way before collection. ”The circular is widely circulated and for both PLIs and GSIS, they have authorized DepEd to allow the deductions,” she said.

TDC: The DepEd Order No. 38 released in July 31 of this year, while circulated on the widely was never explained to the us. The Order is loaded with technicalities- both terms and procedures.

SLMB: GSIS, Briones bared is “complaining and are threatening to sue us and the teachers” if the unpaid amount of loans are not settled. “This is a challenge that we need to solve because we will be held liable,” she explained.
To date, Briones said DepEd has about 23,000 teachers that are about to retire and will not get any amount after because their GSIS loans are not being deducted. “Teachers don’t realize that these interest rates are being compounded,” Briones noted.

TDC: Again, the Secretary should ask herself, who is to blame? Teachers are tasked to teach but those who have loans in the GSIS have obligation to pay and that payment should be made by the DepEd, the agency of teachers tasked to collect money and remit the same to the GSIS. Why should teachers be penalized?
SLMB: For Briones, the best long-term solution to teachers’ over-borrowing is teaching teachers financial literacy. “We really have to institute financial literacy among our teachers,” she stressed. Teachers have to “make financial choices amongst themselves…it’s not as if the Department has created this problem and they are aware of this problem,” she ended.
TDC: We recognize the need for financial literacy program and, as we have earlier stated, we are willing to cooperate with the DepEd for this objective. However, how could one manege finances if he has none? The best solution is in the Secretary herself. She is mandated by law to propose funding for the welfare provisions of the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers and provide for overtime pay, free health services, study leave with pay, cost of living allowances, higher salary grade, among other benegits. Yet, the Secretary did not perform her mandated duties. Worse, she stated in several occasions that teachers are not underpaid and underappreciated. If so, we will not need to pawn our ATM cards to make ends meet. We borrow because the salaries we are getting are simply not enough for a decent living.

We hope the Secretary will join us in our calls for a P10,000 across the board increase for tecahers and DepEd personnel.#
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Reference:
Benjo Basas
National Chairperson
09273356375

https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/10/24/teachers-decry-loan-deductions-from-salaries/

Wala kaming Sinahod?

ITO PO ANG SAGOT NG TDC SA ISYU NA YAN, ANG ACTUAL CONTENT NG SULAT NATIN KAY SEC. BRIONES NA NAIPADALA NGAYON LANG SA CENTRAL OFFICE:

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22 October 2017

DR. LEONOR MAGTOLIS-BRIONES

Secretary 

Department of Education

DepEd Complex, Pasig City

 

Greetings of peace!

Madam;

We would like to bring to your attention the urgent issue in the field in relation to the deductions made by the Department of Education (DepEd) thru the respective Regional Payroll Services Units (RPSU) for the salary of DepEd teachers for the month of October. This, according to our initial inquiries is in accordance with the DepEd Order No. 28, s. 2017 (Further Clarifications to DepEd Order Nos. 12 and 27, S. 2017 - Implementation of P4,000.00 Net Take Home Pay for Department of Education Personnel), which is based on Sec. 47 of the General Provisions of General Appropriations Act of 2017. Many teachers were shocked upon learning that the salaries they received for this month were below the net take-home pay of P4, 000.00, some received only P600 pesos. 

Madam, it is unimaginable that a teachers’ family will be able to live on a P600.00 budget for a month. While we recognize that teachers, or any borrower at that, have their obligations to the lending institutions, it is also clear in the rules that the DepEd is duty bound to ensure that teachers are eligible for the loans. Furthermore, the DepEd, thru the respective RPSUs has the obligation to effect the deductions for loan amortization as stipulated in the loan forms and even in the agreement of the DepEd with the private lending institutions (PLIs).  As to the public loan facilities under GSIS or HMDF or even DepEd Provident Fund, it is expected that the deductions for these shall be prioritized by the DepEd. Yet in many cases, deductions for PLIs were made ahead of the GSIS deductions, which is a violation of rules. Clearly these violations resulted to the present dilemma where teachers are deeply fallen in debt because of the compounded interests charged against them both by the PLIs and government loan facilities. 

Teachers have nothing to do with the implementation of these policies and they should not be penalized for others’ fault. This recent deliberate deductions below the NTHP is another big blow to the teachers and their families who are highly dependent on their minimum take-home pay of P4, 000.00 for a month of living. Given this situation, teachers will now look for alternatives to make ends meet, one of them obviously is again to plead to loan sharks which will perpetuate and worsen their already dismal economic situation. 

Madam, we recognize that there is a problem on the mindset of most of our employees in relation with financial management, but we also believe that this abrupt and unforeseen solution of the DepEd creates more problems than solution. May we appeal for your consideration to immediately suspend the implementation of the DepEd Order No. 38, s. 2017 and initiate the widest consultation possible so that we will all be able to discuss the situation in the field and come up with a better solution.

Finally, we are very much willing to collaborate with the DepEd management to promote and strengthen financial literacy for our employees.  But most of all, please be one with us in our struggle for a better compensation package specifically the P10, 000 across the board increase in the salaries of teachers and DepEd employees. 

  

Thank you very much! 

Respectfully yours, 

BENJO G. BASAS

National Chairperson