Cash-strapped QC public school teachers seek dialogue with mayor

Public school teachers in Quezon City reiterated their call for a dialogue with Mayor Herbert Bautista over the delayed release of their supplemental monthly allowance from the city government.

The Quezon City Public School Teachers Association (QCPSTA) said that it had been trying to talk to Bautista to no avail. On Friday, around 1,000 city school teachers went to city hall but he was not around.

In an interview on Sunday, QCPSTA president Mabelle Caboboy said that one of their main demands was the return of their allowance payroll system to LandBank, following repeated delays in the release of their monthly benefits for the past four years.

Change in bank

The government bank was in charge of releasing the teachers’ allowances until the city government tapped the services of BPI Globe BanKO, a mobile-based savings bank, in 2013.

“Before, under LandBank, we would receive half of our P1,000 supplemental allowance a week after our monthly salary, then the remaining half in the following week,” Caboboy said.

“Now, under BPI Globe BanKO, it would be delayed by as much as six to eight months,” she told the Inquirer, adding that she received just this April her allowance for December 2017.

“This allowance is very significant for the teachers because we use it for emergency purposes, and even for our food and transportation expenses, while we wait for our monthly salary,” Caboboy said.

The Inquirer tried but failed to reach Bautista for comment.

Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte, on the other hand, said in a statement that the teachers’ calls for an increase in their supplemental allowance, longevity pay and quarterly rice allowance had already been approved by the city council. —WITH REPORTS FROM ANNA PATRICIA CAMPOS AND KRISTELA DANIELLE BOO