Public school teachers’ accumulated debt reaches P300

By Janvic Mateo (The Philippine Star), Oct 28, 2017

MANILA, Philippines — The accumulated debt of public school teachers across the country has reached a staggering P300 billion.

Data released by the Department of Education (DepEd) showed that teachers have incurred P178 billion in loans from private lending institutions and P123 billion in credit from the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) as of 2016.

To address this, Teachers’ Dignity Coalition chairman Benjo Basa urged DepEd to ask GSIS to consider loan restructuring to enable the teachers to pay over a longer period with smaller monthly amortization.

He also suggested the possible condonation the compounded interests of loans payable to private lending institutions.

“We borrow money because of necessity, definitely not for luxury. We borrow money for our house rent, education, health, even our materials and supplies for daily lessons and other essentials which the government failed to provide for us and our families,” Basa said.

He also asked the government to implement the proposed P10,000 salary increase for public school teachers.

The minimum basic monthly pay for public school teachers is P21,000. Principals receive nearly P50,000.

Education Secretary Leonor Briones earlier recalled her order allowing unlimited loan deductions from teachers’ salaries after teachers complained of receiving salaries way below the P4,000 threshold.

The P4,000 threshold is the minimum amount of take-home pay a government employee should receive after payroll deductions. It is set under the annual budget law.

“Due to a series of concerted protest actions by teachers, Secretary Briones was forced to issue Department Order No. 55, which maintains the P4,000 threshold, effectively repealing DO No. 38,” the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) party-list said.

“Despite the issuance of DO No. 55, an investigation must ensue to hold the Department of Education’s leadership accountable for its arbitrary issuance of DO No. 38,” the group added.

According to education officials, DepEd was forced to issue DO No. 38 because of the mounting debt of teachers with the Government Service Insurance System, savings and loans associations composed of teachers themselves and private lenders.

The order allowed unlimited payroll deductions so that teachers could recover from indebtedness or at least update their loan payments.

However, since the order was issued, many teachers have been receiving small amounts in take-home pay due to their huge debt.

ACT said Briones violated the law by allowing deductions to go beyond the P4,000 threshold.

The two representatives of ACT party-list yesterday filed a House resolution seeking an inquiry into the indebtedness and payroll deductions of teachers.

In her new directive, Briones said contributions or obligations of premiums and loans to the GSIS and Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF) shall be given priority in deductions from salaries of employees.

The same primacy shall be accorded to payments for the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Philippine Health Insurance Corp.

“Although the net pay may increase or decrease, depending on the GSIS and HDMF deductions, we would like to assure all DepEd personnel that their net pay, which goes to the provision of their daily needs, will not go lower than the P4,000 threshold,” Briones said.

She also reminded all officers to “exercise due diligence” in certifying and ensuring that the DepEd personnel applying for loans are well aware of their capacity to pay and of the interests and penalties they may incur in case of delayed payment.

“We continue to identify and implement measures that will enable our teachers and personnel to manage their finances and retire comfortably in the future,” she added. – With Jess Diaz