Students and teachers at the General Roxas Elementary School in Quezon City conduct a dry run of face-to-face class in this photo taken on February 8, 2022. (INQUIRER/GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE)
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education (DepEd) on Tuesday clarified the 2021 performance-based bonuses (PBB) of teachers that have yet to be released were not delayed.
These bonuses are just being reconciled.
DepEd spokesperson Michael Poa said DepEd is still reconciling the list of employees after they were flagged by Department of Budget and Management.
This was done due to a lack of proper documents, causing the two-year wait from teachers.
READ: DBM to release NCR teachers’ bonus 2 years late; flags duplicate entries in other regions
“Actually, it’s not delayed. It’s really the process. Talagang may reconciliation yan,” said Poa in an ambush interview in Malacañang.
(Actually it’s not delay. It’s really the process. There really is a reconciliation.)
Poa explained since the bonuses were from 2021, there are teachers who are no longer connected with DepEd.
There are also newly-hired faculty members.
“2021 yung pinag-uusapan natin na bonus year, so we have to make sure na yung mga empleyadong tatanggap ay 2021,” Poa said.
(We are talking about the 2021 bonus year, so we have to make sure that the people who receive the bonus were employed in 2021.)
“So if you check the records now, hindi talaga magtutugma yan kasi, iba na yung pwedeng employado, yung bilang na empleyado, yung mga na-hire, yung mga umalis. So that’s why there is reconciliation na nagaganap,” explained Poa.
(So if you check the records now, it really will not match because the employees are different, the number of those employed, those who were hired, those who left, that is why there is a reconciliation happening.)
The DepEd spokesperson said this process is normal for all government employees for their bonuses.
“I hope that we can all understand that this is not a delay. All government agencies go through this process when it comes to the PBB,” Poa said in a mix of English and Filipino.
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