Teachers get Christmas bonuses early, for once

Education Secretary Armin Luistro

It’s a Christmas miracle.

Teachers in several parts of the country have received their P10,000 cash gift from the government well before Christmas, unlike in other years when they had to wait well into the new year before seeing a centavo.

As of Thursday afternoon, monitoring by the Department of Education (DepEd) showed that 100 percent of teachers in the Ilocos, Cagayan and Central Visayas had received their productivity enhancement incentive (PEI).

In the Bicol region, some 95 percent of teachers had received the bonus while in Metro Manila, some 90 percent had gotten theirs.

The Teachers Dignity Coalition, which pushed for the early distribution of the bonus, said this year saw the earliest release in at least a decade.

TDC chairman Benjo Basas said coalition members from around the country reported receiving their PEI as early as last week.

“This year it was really earlier. In 2009, it was February when the teachers got their full bonuses,” Basas said.

Education Secretary Armin Luistro said the DepEd worked to release the bonus as soon as the Department of Budget and Management approved the disbursement of funds.

“We had our implementing units prepare the required documents so that when the funds were available, we could fast-track the payments to our teachers and personnel,” said Luistro.

Payouts will continue in the rest of the regions before Christmas, the DepEd vowed. The school holiday break begins on December 21.

The DepEd said the funds for teachers in Southern Tagalog and Regions VIII, XI and XII were expected to be released Friday or early next week.