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Deductions
from teachers' pay
"unconscionable" - Roco
Department of Education, Culture & Sports (DECS) Secretary Raul S.
Roco last week emphasized that his
priority is the welfare of ordinary
teachers even as he vowed to act on the
"unconscionable" deductions from
their monthly salaries.
In his meeting with head teachers, principals and supervisors at the
seaside residence of Dr. Antonio Zantua
last Saturday (Feb. 24), Roco disclosed
that he is taking moves to stop the
deductions being made by the department's
IBM division from the salaries of
teachers.
He stressed that he has refused to accept the P17,000 monthly
"bonus" offered to him as the
DECS secretary's share of the two percent
(2%) service fee given to the department
by credit companies, adding that
undersecretaries, regional directors and
district supervisors all get a share from
the illegal scheme.
The former senator said even the teachers do not know that they are being
dunned 2% in addition to the deductions
for loans. Considering that of the
P80-billion allocation for salaries over
the entire country, with P50-B going to
the countryside, Roco said the 2% service
fee being given to DECS is excessive and
unconscionable.
He cited the case of a Camarines Sur teacher who paid a total of P40,000
in amortizations for an ordinary
refrigerator. Roco said that the
deductions have resulted in teachers
receiving only P2,000 in take-home pay out
of their P12,000 monthly salary.
Lamenting that he has not received any feedback from DECS field officials
regarding the plight of ordinary teachers,
Roco asked them to give him true
information, otherwise those caught lying
would be suspended.
He also heard a complaint alleging that the IBM division's modus operandi
of continuing deductions from teachers'
paychecks despite the fact that they
already paid fully their loans with the
credit companies.
However, the DECS secretary denied a request that the salaries be
released every 15th and 30th, saying that
IBM processes 18,000 checks every day and
would be unduly burdened if such
arrangement would be allowed. He also
scuttled a suggestion for the direct
release to schools of their capital
outlays for books and chairs, pointing out
that they would most likely purchase the
materials in Manila to save on costs, thus
defeating the purpose of decentralization.
Roco also promised to act on the report that since typhoon Loleng in
1998, not one of the damaged schools have
been reconstructed or repaired. He bared
that it is obligatory for the government
to build school buildings every fiscal
year, vowing to trace the money trail to
see if indeed the funds trickled down to
division level.
He said he will not accept the perception that the DECS trails only the
DPWH and Customs as the most corrupt
government agency, adding that he will
leave DECS as the best agency in
government.
The DECS top honcho also announced that the department needs 3000
qualified principals, promising higher pay
to volunteers. He said only by enhancing
and empowering principals on campus can
the nation improve education.
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