MANILA, Philippines?The Senate should investigate the delay in the release of Christmas bonuses for public schoolteachers and other government workers, a former labor undersecretary said.

Susan Ople, who heads the Blas F. Ople Policy Center, said public schoolteachers from all over the country, including Metro Manila, have been complaining about the delay in their Christmas bonuses.

?The government should set the right example. It cannot set a different standard for private companies while failing to honor on time its obligation to its own employees,? Ople said in a statement.

She said the Ople Center has received similar complaints from PSLink, a federation of government unions headed by Annie Geron.

According to Geron, PSLink had written the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) three days before Christmas Eve to press for the release of the Christmas bonuses to all government employees, including those employed by local government units.

?It defeats the purpose of having a Christmas bonus if the money comes days after Christmas Eve. The prompt release of this annual entitlement to our public school teachers could have spelled the difference between having spaghetti for Noche Buena or serving the usual instant noodles for their kids,? Ople said.

She said the Senate should look into the issue as part of its budget oversight function.

?If the funds are indeed available, what is holding up the release? Our public school teachers deserve an explanation from the DBM and the Department of Education,? Ople said.

?It?s not as if this is a surprise budget allocation. It is an annual tradition and benefit that government employees deserve and look forward to. At a time of extreme financial stress and following a series of calamities, this productivity bonus means the world to an ordinary public schoolteacher,? she added. Philip C. Tubeza