Perks plus pineapple

Makati City has allotted P103.5 million for various incentives to its public school teachers and DepEd Makati employees this year.

Mayor Abby Binay says the incentives cover special education, Alternative Learning System and Arabic Language and Islamic Values Education (Asatidz) teachers.

The amount includes P77.5 million for the P3,000 monthly allowance for teachers, P5.2 million for teaching-related staff, and P4.3 million for non-teaching personnel. There is also P14.5 million for teachers’ fringe benefit of P6,000 given in December.

SPED teachers are given a P2,500 monthly allowance from an allocation of P1.95 million in this year’s budget of the city.

“This added perk underscores our recognition of the extraordinary skills and effort required of teachers working with students who have special needs,” Binay says.

Under ALS, school heads receive P3,500 while instructional managers get P3,000 monthly from the city.

Asatidz teachers receive a monthly allowance of P4,500 while preschool teachers receive a P5,000 chalk allowance to cover the costs of special teaching materials needed for a conducive learning environment.

There is also nearly P15 million fund for the Teacher Effectiveness and Competence Honing program, which offers opportunities for teachers to pursue executive and specialized courses at selected partner-universities in Metro Manila.

“Recently, we also gave away pineapples, which we sourced from Isabela to help local farmers, to all DepEd Makati teaching and non-teaching personnel,” the mayor adds.