No hazard pay for teachers in areas under GCQ -DepEd exec

There will be no hazard pay for teachers who will be physically reporting back to work in areas under general community quarantine (GCQ) even amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Education Undersecretary Annalyn Sevilla said Wednesday.

“The payment of hazard under AO (Administrative Order) 26 is only during enhanced community quarantine. The release of hazard pay during GCQ is not authorized anymore,” Sevilla said during a briefing before the joint panels of House Metro Manila and Basic Education and Culture.

Under GCQ, a very limited number of public transportation is allowed to resume operations and a percentage of workers can physically report back to work. There were not allowed when Metro Manila and several other areas in the country were under ECQ.

Sevilla said instead of providing hazard pay, alternative working arrangement has been put in place for teachers which will limit their working hours outside of their homes.

“Sa alternative working arrangement, not necessary na six to eight hours po sila nasa labas kung meron man pong pinapagawa. On skeleton workforce lang po tayo, iyong [may] essential, necessary at justifiable na dahilan lang po ang pinapapunta,” she said.

“From June 1 to 5 po, sinabihan na po kami ni Secretary [Leonor Briones] na work remotely, work from home po. And under Civil Service Commission, may adjustment na po na there is a reduction in the duration that they are out.”

Sevilla then said that school heads have also been tasked to deploy by batches the teachers that will be needed in the enrollment procedure.

“Itong mga focal persons po [na teachers] na naka-assign sa enrollment, we have asked the school heads na i-identify  ang mga guro na papasok by batch, tapos sa susunod [na araw], ibang batch naman po. Shifting po,” she said.

Sevilla, however, clarified that teachers will still be allowed to go to school to get their things which they have left there before the lockdown was imposed on March 16.

The opening of classes is scheduled on August 24, but it will be marked by online classes, distribution of printed learning modules, and home schooling pending the availability of a vaccine against COVID-19 as ordered by President Rodrigo Duterte.

There are 26 provinces which are COVID-19 free, but Undersecretary Nepomuceno Malalauan maintained that face-to-face classes are still not an option in these areas to prevent COVID-19 transmission. --KBK, GMA News