DepEd Spokesperson Michael Poa/Photo grabbed from DepEd’s Facebook Live Press Conference on October 7.
MANILA, Philippines – Teachers with COVID-19 symptoms or those exposed to close contacts who are COVID-19 positive are allowed to use paid sick leaves, the Department of Education (DepEd) on Friday said.
“Ang sick leave po ng teacher o tinatawag na excused absences ay nakaloob na po sa ating DepEd Order No. 39, yan yung latest health guidelines po natin. Ayun po doon, ‘pag ang teacher po ay positive for COVID, may sintomas, or close contact na kailangan mag-iisolate, sila po ay makakapagavail ng excused absence… yan po ay absence na may bayad sila,” said DepEd Spokesperson Michael Poa.
(Our latest health guidelines specify a teacher’s sick leave or excused absence in DepEd Order No. 39. It says there that teachers who are positive for COVID, have symptoms, or a close contact that needs to isolate can avail of excused absences.)
Poa said that the rule is based on Civil Service Commission Memorandum Circular No. 2, series of 2022, which serves as the guidelines for using leave credits for civil servants, as public school teachers fall under this sector.
The clarification came after the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) alleged confusion on the health policies set by the DepEd. The group added that public school teachers were also forced to pay for their RT-PCR tests to keep their salaries intact should they be absent from work.
ACT said it received reports of teachers being required to teach in classrooms even after being exposed to persons who tested positive for COVID-19.
READ: DepEd policies to blame for COVID-19 cases in schools – ACT
The DepEd has previously confirmed that schools have reported COVID-19 cases among students and teaching and non-teaching personnel since classes began in August. However, DepEd has yet to provide an exact number of cases among schools.
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