Vice mayor fumes over late pay for 250 city teachers

THE vice mayor of Cebu City is fuming over the delayed payment of the honoraria of at least 250 kindergarten teachers in the city.

Vice Mayor Joy Augustus Young said the lapse covering at least three months points to unresolved problems in the Department of Education (DepEd).

City Schools Superintendent Rhea Mar Angtud meanwhile said late last Friday that the honoraria of these kindergarten teachers can already be released.

Young said Education Secretary Armin Luistro should resign if he can’t resolve simple problems like payroll.

The vice mayor said Luistro should have done his “homework” and address education related problems before insisting on the implementation of the K to 12 program.

“This problem (delays in the payment of the salaries of teachers) has been going on for a long time,” he said.

But Angtud said, “I just learned around 3 p.m. that the budget has already arrived, and the payrolls are already being prepared by the accounting department.”

She said the compensation could be released next week, “either Tuesday or Wednesday.”

“We will work overtime to prepare the bank checks and payroll,” the head of the education department in Cebu City said.

Young said some of the unpaid kindergarten teachers have asked for his help on their unpaid compensation.

They are paid P3,000 a month.

Angtud said the teachers have not been paid their honoraria for the months of February, March and June.

Aside from the teachers, Young also complainedof delays in the release of salaries of job order workers assigned in Education Department are also complaining of delayed compensation./with reports from Tweeny M. Malinao