TO IMPROVE  access to benefits for teachers and school principals, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian is pushing for a ₱3-billion allocation to clear the Department of Education’s arrears from unremitted Government Service Insurance System contributions.

“This is one area where we can improve morale—by addressing our teachers’ and principals’ concerns in terms of GSIS and other benefits,” Gatchalian said.

He cited the 2024 Commission on Audit report showing DepEd’s failure to remit ₱5.77 billion in mandatory employee deductions to GSIS, PhilHealth, and Pag-IBIG. The lapse has put workers’ benefits at risk and exposed them to penalties.

Education Secretary Sonny Angara told the Senate committee that DepEd and GSIS have already reconciled their records, leaving ₱3 billion in arrears from the government’s counterpart contributions. He said the department is seeking the Senate’s help to finally settle these decade-old obligations.

Angara added that DepEd continues to face challenges in meeting GSIS’s requirement to remit at least 95 percent of employee deductions due to its massive size—managing over 2,900 implementing units and nearly one million members nationwide.

If approved, the proposed allocation is expected to provide relief to educators whose retirement, loan, and insurance benefits depend on timely government remittances.