THE Department of Education (DepEd) has deployed 666 new plantilla personnel, including lawyers, legal assistants, and procurement staff, to public Schools Division Offices (SDOs) across the country amid its bid to strengthen the agency’s frontline services and address longstanding staffing gaps that have hampered operations at the local level.
In a statement, Education Secretary Sonny Angara said the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) approved on August 1, 2025, the agency’s request to create and reclassify various legal and procurement positions across 223 SDOs amid the increasing demand for legal assistance at the division level, which has outpaced staffing capacity.
“Malaking tulong ito para sa ating field offices na matagal nang kapos sa suporta. Dahil sa tulong ni Pangulong Marcos at DBM, magkakaroon tayo ng mga abogado at procurement staff sa bawat SDO. Mas mapapabilis ang serbisyo, at mababawasan ang burnout ng ating mga kawani,” Angara said.
(This is a big help for our field offices that have long lacked support. With the help of President Marcos and the DBM, we will now have lawyers and procurement staff in every SDO. Services will be faster, and employee burnout will be reduced.)
The approval covers the creation of new plantilla positions across all SDOs, specifically: 47 Attorney III, 187 Legal Assistant I, 214 Administrative Officer IV, 218 Administrative Officer II, 214 Administrative Officer IV (SG 15), and 218 Administrative Officer II (SG 11) positions.
This will allow each of the 47 small SDOs to have their own full-time legal officer, supported by Legal Assistant I positions across small and medium divisions.
The hiring of procurement staff will enable SDOs to process and manage procurement functions more efficiently and in compliance with existing regulations.
Angara said that 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.
He said most divisions, due to the lack of permanent procurement personnel, assign procurement tasks as additional duties to existing staff.
Angara emphasized the urgent need for professional procurement teams, noting that the Department receives the highest annual budget allocation in government.
He noted that DepEd’s flagship projects, such as school building construction, computerization programs, and the distribution of learning resources, all require fast and compliant procurement operations.
“The deployment of legal and procurement personnel is a crucial step toward improving transparency, accountability, and service delivery,” said Angara. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)