(FILES) Teacher Cristina Ambrocio tends to her Grade 4 pupils as she teaches Araling Panlipunan at Aurora A. Quezon Elementary School on Thursday, 19 September 2024. Recently, following consultations with teachers, the Department of Education announced that schools will return to holding one-hour classes under the new curriculum starting in the second quarter of the school year.
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A teachers' group on Monday appealed to President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. to intervene in the release of the long-delayed P7,000 medical allowance for public school teachers and other government employees.
The said allowance, under Marcos’ Executive Order No. 64, should be released through HMO, or in rare cases, in cash.
The Teachers' Dignity Coalition (TDC) is also seeking an urgent dialogue with Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman to resolve the matter.
The group expressed appreciation for Pangandaman’s passionate appeal to government agencies to immediately release the medical allowance, noting that it is already halfway through the year.
Basas stressed that public school teachers badly need the cash to cover their medical expenses, particularly the mandated annual medical examination, which most teachers have paid for out of their own pockets.
“While the Executive Order prescribes the benefit for fiscal year 2025, delays in policy implementation have left our teachers waiting for months. We need clarity and decisive action. We appeal to the President and the DBM Secretary to resolve this without further delay,” Basas said.
The group’s latest appeal follows a series of communications with Malacañang. On 1 July, TDC wrote to the Office of the President requesting that the allowance be released in cash form, at least for 2025. Malacañang endorsed the letter to Education Secretary Juan Edgardo Angara on 3 July, but the DepEd responded that it lacked the authority to amend Executive Order No. 64.
Undeterred, the TDC wrote again to Malacañang on 28 July to seek the President’s direct opinion. Malacañang replied on 31 July by endorsing the matter to the Department of Budget and Management. Most recently, on 14 August, the group wrote a rejoinder to the Palace, noting that the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) might simply echo DepEd’s position.
Basas said the latest endorsement to the DBM could signal a breakthrough.
“We see a ray of hope in the Palace’s referral to the DBM. This may mean entrusting the matter to Secretary Pangandaman’s discretion, since DBM is the primary agency tasked to implement Executive Order No. 64,” he explained.
