DepEd releasing remaining P3,000 of workers’ P10,000 SRI

The Department of Education (DepEd) on Thursday said it is now releasing the remaining P3,000 of the P10,000 Service Recognition Incentive (SRI) of its almost one million workers.

In a statement, the DepEd said that during the last week of 2021 its was able to pool the remaining 2021 Personnel Services (PS) saving “with the end in view of generating the amount necessary for the payment of the remaining P3,000 SRI per employee, amounting to P2,861,520,000.”

The Education department said that on December 31, 2021, it was able to download the said savings to the respective Regional Offices (RO), and to the various Schools Division Offices (SDO) to cover the requirements of the SDOs and both implementing unit (IU) and non-IU public schools thru the issuance of Sub-Allotment Release Orders (Sub-AROs). 

“The DepEd CO (Central Office) is coordinating with the DBM (Department of Budget and Management) CO for the issuance of the cash requirements corresponding to the savings downloaded,” it said.

“Despite the limited workforce at the Budget Division of the Central Office, further complicated by the rising COVID-19 cases, DepEd was able to still release the Sub-AROs to all ROs and SDOs, request the cash cover to DBM, and monitor the status of the actual payment by the field offices of the remaining P3,000 SRI per employee,” it added.

The DepEd said that upon the issuance of Administrative Order No. 45, s. 2021, it immediately facilitated the initial pooling of estimated 2021 PS savings to cover the requirements for the release of the P10,000 SRI in the sum of P9,547,660,000.

“Based on the AO, the SRI will be funded out of available released FY 2021 PS allotments of the agency, and that any deficiency may be charged against the unobligated FY 2021 allotment for Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE), subject to the rules on modification in allotments as prescribed under Section 72 of the General Provisions of the FY 2021 General Appropriations Act (GAA), as well as other pertinent budgeting, accounting, and auditing rules and regulations,” it said.

The agency said it enjoined its Operating Units to submit their estimated 2021 PS savings and was able to identify and generate more or less P7 billion, “enough to be able to pay a uniform rate of P7,000 to its 954,766 teaching and non-teaching employees qualified to receive the SRI, which is higher compared to the 2020 SRI at P6,190 per employee.”

The DepEd said it was able to pay the P7,000 per employee during the 2021 Christmas season due to the full support of the DBM in facilitating the release of the covering cash allocations necessary for the actual payment of the initial amount of SRI that can be granted at a uniform rate. — BM, GMA News