ACT TEACHERS Partylist Rep. France Castro urged the House Committee on Basic Education and Culture to conduct an inquiry, in aid of legislation, on the Department of Education’s guidelines in granting service credits to teachers.

In filing House Resolution 2347, Castro said the additional tasks and services of teachers have not been properly compensated.

“Due to unavailability of funds, the DepEd would resort to granting teachers service credits. However, service credits have a 15-day limitation per year. The succeeding work and services rendered by public school teachers would often only be rewarded with a ‘thank you for your service,'” Castro said.

The lawmaker commended the suspension of the limitation on granting service credits because of the pandemic but urged DepEd to permanently remove the limitation to adequately compensate teachers.

“We also urge the DepEd to expand the recognized activities and services for the granting of service credits in DepEd Order 65s. 2021 and remove the condition it sets. Teachers assume additional tasks such as paperworks, school reports, school-based management documents, feeding programs, community visitation and other tasks in the exigency of service,” she stressed.

“Teachers rendered services beyond the legally allowed school days and just to implement the Learning Continuity Plan, they have also rendered additional services or tasks even before the start of the official school calendar. It is just, fair and right to compensate them as education frontliners in this time of pandemic,” Castro said.