ONE of the key priorities of the Department of Education (DepEd) stated in its 10-Point Agenda, under the leadership of Secretary Leonor Briones is to expand the scope of academic and non-academic employee welfare.
Because of this, DepEd ensures that steps are underway to further improve the guidelines of the DepEd Provident Fund (PF) Committed to provide continuous efforts that will benefit both the teaching and non-teaching personnel.
This is in accordance to the DepEd Order no. 36, s. 2007, or the Amendments and Addendum to DepEd Order no. 12, 2004 (Revised Implementing Guidelines for the DepEd Provident Fund), the loan shall be used for emergency needs of the teacher/employee or immediate and other members of his/her family up to the fourth degree of civil consanguinity or affinity. As of this writing DepEd has P4 billion in its Provident Fund.
The list of improvements being considered are: a) the reduction of interest rates on PF loans where there will be a diminishing computation aside from the straight computation which could go from 13.91 percent to 21.5 percent in straight computation to 8.63 percent to 16.44 percent in diminishing balance computation, b) the privatization of the DepEd PF, which aims to have better employer and employee shares and retirement benefits, and, c) a more flexible fund management and operations and the issuance of health cards to all DepEd teaching and non-teaching employees.
The most important of all is that DepEd is crafting amendments on the Omnibus Provident Fund Guidelines, which was first issued in 2004 and last amended in 2007 that will include the provision for PF Loan Protection Program for the writing off of outstanding balances of deceased borrowers and elimination of co-makers.
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Another important development in Deped to benefit schools is its request to Congress particularly from the House Appropriations Committee headed by Davao City 1st District Representative Karlo Alexie Nograles with Rep. Maria Carmen Zamora and Corazon Nunez Malanyaon of the 1st District of Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental respectively as Vice Chairpersons from Davao Region for amendments on the special provisions of the Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) of schools and Basic Education Facilities Fund (BEFF), and the restoration of the Quick Response Fund (QRF) during the Committee on Appropriations Hearing on Deped’s proposed 2018 budget on August 22 at the House of Representatives.
Deped Undersecretary for Finance-Budget and Performance Monitoring Annalyn Sevilla underscored that amending the special provisions of MOOE and BEFF will help the Education Department in streamlining its disbursement of funds process.
Deped also welcomed the proposal of Pampanga 3rd District Representative Aurelio Gonzales Jr. to file a bill that will enable the construction of community learning centers (CLCs) for Alternative Learning System (ALS) learners.
Secretary Briones and DepEd Executive Committee (Execom) members who were around also appealed for the restoration of the Deped QRF, which was removed from the Department’s 2017 budget and re-allocated to the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC).
DepEd said that the calamity-related fund will serve as standby fund for the repair, rehabilitation, reconstruction, or replacement of school buildings and facilities affected by calamities to normalize the situation as quickly as possible.
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Director’s Cut: (This portion features the thoughts of lawyer Alberto Escobarte, CESO IV, Regional Director, DepEd-Davao to all stakeholders and recipients of the efforts to improve the basic education). "Let me assure you that in the performance of my official duties and even my private acts will be guided and guarded by my Oath of Office, The Panunumpa ng Kawani ng Gobyerno, the Philippine Constitution and all the laws that govern our actions.”
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You can access DepEd Updates, latest issuances, photos and other relevant information through our website: http://www.deped.gov.ph and our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Deped.Philippines/. For queries, complains and other concerns for the different schools divisions email them to davao.city@deped.gov.ph, davao.delsur@deped.gov.ph, davao.delnorte@deped.gov.ph, tagum.city@deped.gov.ph, panabo.city@deped.gov.ph, igacos@deped.gov.ph, davao.oriental@deped.gov.ph, digos.city@deped.gov.ph, mati.city@deped.gov.ph and compostela.valley@deped.gov.ph.