Teachers in Quezon City are negotiating to prevent the loss of their allowances from the city government, which they said had been identified as a funding source for the construction of senior high school buildings under the K to 12 expanded basic education program.
The feared loss of more than P36,000 in annual city government incentives for each teacher was one of the grievances discussed by the Quezon City Public School Teachers Association (QCPSTA) in a leadership training conference held in Baguio City earlier this week.
QCPSTA president Priscilla Ampuan maintained that the allowances were granted through an ordinance and may not be realigned.
According to Maribelle Aboboy, QCPSTA vice chair, teachers receive supplemental allowances and quarterly rice allowances. But because of the city government’s commitment to the K to 12 program, they fear that their allowances may be removed by January next year, she said.
The city government proposed to tap its Special Education Fund (SEF) for the buildings’ construction, but QCPSTA and the city schools division office will block the plan, Ampuan said. Like the teachers, the division school employees also receive allowances provided by the SEF, she said.
But Quezon Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte allayed such fears when reached for comment on Thursday. “The city is in a very healthy fiscal state and can well afford to appropriate funds to provide for senior high school facilities without sacrificing the allowances of our teachers.”
“Good education rests not only on good infrastructure and facilities but on the quality of our teachers as well and we cannot afford to demoralize our teachers or lose them to other professions by withdrawing their allowances which would translate to our lack of support for them,” Belmonte said.
City Administrator Aldrin Cuña explained: “The supplemental allowance is a judgment call of the executive. I would like to reiterate that it is an assistance given by the city over and above the salaries and benefits received by the teachers from the Department of Education.’’
“But it’s far-fetched that it will be removed,” Cuña added.
The Commission on Audit, he said, had observed that incentives for teachers cannot be sourced from the SEF, that’s why it was transferred to the general fund or the city’s annual budget appropriation.
“It’s unfair to connect the supplemental allowance to K to 12. The city government is committed to see through the implementation of the senior high school program.” he added.