In an effort to further strengthen its frontline services, the Department of Education (DepEd) on Friday said it will be deploying 666 new plantilla personnel—including lawyers, legal assistants, and procurement staff—to public Schools Division Offices (SDOs) nationwide.

This move follows the Department of Budget and Management’s (DBM) formal approval on 1 August 2025 of DepEd’s request to create and reclassify various legal and procurement positions across 223 SDOs to address longstanding staffing gaps that have hampered operations at the local level.

The approval covers the creation of new plantilla positions across all SDOs, specifically: 47 Attorney III, 187 Legal Assistant I, 214 Administrative Officer IV, and 218 Administrative Officer II. Education Secretary Sonny Angara emphasized that the initiative addresses a critical human resource gap that has strained field offices for years.

While DepEd began reorganizing its legal services under the Rationalization Plan of 2015, the increasing demand for legal assistance at the division level has outpaced staffing capacity.

Currently, legal services—such as case resolution, contract review, legal research, and client consultations—are often shared between personnel from nearby divisions or regions, which delays action and increases employee fatigue.

The newly approved items will allow each of these 47 small SDOs to have their own full-time legal officer, supported by Legal Assistant I positions across small and medium divisions.

In addition to legal staffing, the DBM also approved the creation of a dedicated procurement staff across all SDOs, composed of 214 Administrative Officer IV and 218 Administrative Officer II positions. These will enable SDOs to process and manage procurement functions more efficiently and in compliance with existing regulations.

Except for four of the largest SDOs, most divisions currently lack permanent procurement personnel. Procurement tasks are usually assigned as additional duties to existing staff.

With the Department receiving the highest annual budget allocation in government, the need for professional procurement teams has become more urgent. DepEd’s flagship projects—such as school building construction, computerization programs, and distribution of learning resources—all require fast and compliant procurement operations.

Education Secretary Sonny Angara noted that the deployment of legal and procurement personnel is a crucial step toward improving transparency, accountability, and service delivery.