I would have wanted to continue my sick leave for another month or so, but looking at the numbers of my remaining service credits will not afford me the luxury of rest that I needed.
For many public school teachers, a serious diagnosis brings two immediate questions: Can I recover? And almost as quickly: Do I still have enough service credits?
Under the Civil Service Commission’s Omnibus Rules on Leave, the general rule for appointive government officials and employees is that they are given 15 days of vacation leave and 15 days of sick leave annually with full pay.
Public school teachers, however, are treated differently.
We are covered by Proportional Vacation Pay and the Vacation Service Credit (VSC) system. VSCs are earned through authorized services such as work performed during weekends, holidays, Christmas or long vacations, work beyond regular hours, certain training activities, and other eligible assignments.
The Department of Education improved this last 2024 when they increased the allowable VSC from 15 to 30 more days.
While the reform deserves recognition, it does not completely solve the underlying problem.
I happened to ask one of my co-teachers who was also diagnosed with cancer recently. She was worried about the number of service credits left for her to use. While she was able to avail the Magna Carta of Women which provides female government employees caused by gynecological disorders a two-month leave with pay, her treatment needs a prolonged medication due to chemotherapy.
It is deeply unsettling to worry about being sick but so much more when you also have to think about how many days of salary can you afford to lose.
Another co-teacher also expressed her fear of being absent due to sickness because she does not have enough service credits to support it.
Teachers are constantly reminded to take care of ourselves. But when we become seriously ill, we face the reality that rest for us is not all the time free.
Not every teacher receives the same number of extracurricular assignments and training opportunities. Likewise, not every teacher can acquire service credits.
It is a reality that there may be a teacher fortunate enough to have accumulated enough service credits, and may continue receiving salary while recovering, but there is also another teacher with fewer credits that will have to choose between returning to work before fully recovering or extending the leave without pay.
While we recognize the wellness leave as an additional benefit given to us early this year, this along with the Magna Carta for Women, cannot cover the rest period needed due to
other serious and life-threatening illnesses.
It is high time to review our health care policies. Let us not wait for another teacher to fall ill, create social media posts and wait for it to become viral before it gets an attention.
We need better health care protection that will allow us to rest and recover without having to rush to go back to work simply because our service credits have run out or, worse, continue recuperating in a hospital bed without pay.
While we appreciate some developments, it does not mean that the work is finished. Policies should evolve when lived realities reveal their limitations.
Teachers are said to be the backbone of a nation. But how can we stand strong if our health care system is weak?
Please take care of us when we can no longer stand in front of our classes.
We gave you the best of ourselves when we were healthy.
We hope that, in return, we will be provided with the support and benefits we deserve when we are sick.
