THE ALLIANCE of Concerned Teachers hit the Department of Education over the memorandum it released purportedly to compensate the extra days and duties performed by teachers last school year.

The group said that the order essentially did not address the extra 87 working days rendered by teachers.

On September 28, the Education department released memorandum number 65, series of 2021, suspending the 15-day per year limit on the grant of service credits for School Year 2020–2021. It also expands the list of activities authorized for service credit claims to include distance learning-related duties.

The order, however, only allowed the expansion of service credit if services were rendered during weekends or holidays.

“Walang kwenta ang kautusan na ito, walang mapapakinabang ang mga guro dito! It is a non-solution to our teachers’ clamor for the grant of service credits and 25% overtime premium to compensate the extra 87 working days that they were made to work under the extended school year,” Raymond Basilio, the group’s secretary general, said.

The order also required teachers to submit various documents to claim service credits for particular weekends and holidays when they rendered services; to include letter of authority from the regional director or division superintendent; request by the school head, teachers’ individual daily log or verifiable attendance mechanism.

“It is very clear with DepEd Order No. 7, series of 2020 that no less than the Central Office ordered for all teachers to report back to work starting June 1, 2020. They have rendered 4 months of work from June 1 to October 3, even before the school year has officially started. What more proof do teachers need to show to prove that they have rendered extra 87 days of work last school year? Bakit ba napakahirap para sa DepEd na ibigay sa mga guro ang ganang kanila?” Basilio asked.

He stressed the importance of service credits to teachers as these can be used to offset absences due to illness or other personal emergencies, especially as they are not eligible for sick leave and vacation leave.

“DepEd is trying to confuse the issue to evade their responsibility of giving teachers what is due them. The issue of teachers’ extra work days rendered last school year have already been clarified in our dialogue with DepEd and Civil Service Commission officials last June 16. Then, the DepEd has admitted that teachers have rendered extra 87 days of work and has promised to justly compensate teachers for this. Just as how we teach our students the value of integrity, we demand for DepEd to honor their own words!” Basilio said.

Basilio warned of mounting teachers’ protests in the next days if the DepEd continues to deny teachers of service credits and overtime pay.

“In due time, teachers will collectively claim their overtime compensation by mounting a series of synchronized mass leaves to take the service credits due them,” Basilio said.