DepEd: P18K SRI, instead of full P20K, is best we can do

The Department of Education (DepEd) studied closely if it could release the full P20,000 worth of Service Recognition Incentive (SRI) to qualified teachers and other teaching personnel, but found that it could only distribute P18,000.

Education spokesperson Undersecretary Michael Poa issued the statement Tuesday amid calls for the DedEd to release P20,000.

"Ayon po sa ating AO (Administrative Order) 'no, talagang ito SRI, we will source it sa PS (personal) savings or 'yung ginagamit natin for personnel. At 'yun lang po talaga. We really tried to look at the numbers, we tried to see if we could give P20 [thousand] pero P18 [thousand] po yung maximum na mabibigay natin," Poa said in an ambush interview.

(Based on our AO, the SRI will be sourced from PS savings or the budget we use for personnel. And this is it. We really tried to look at the numbers, we tried to see if we could give P20,000 but P18,000 is really the maximum.)

"Ganoon pa man, it's significantly higher sa nabigay natin last year," he added.

(Even so, it's significantly higher than what was given last year.)

Poa said tax deductions on P18,000-SRI are due to tax laws and not DepEd policy.

"'Yung tax naman po ay nasa tax laws talaga natin 'yan, 'no, na kapag nag-exceed ng P90,000 ang benefits na natatanggap ng kahit sinong empleyado ay nagiging taxable po siya. So hindi po DepEd policy 'yung tax. It is really in our tax laws," he said.  

(It's really in our tax laws that if the benefits of an employee exceed P90,000, they will become taxable. So it's not DepEd policy. It's really in our tax laws.)

Meanwhile, Poa said DepEd could also not convert the budget for the DepEd's Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) to Personal Services (PS) as they will be used next year.

"Siguro ang nasasabi nila 'yung mga programa na MOOE ay pwedeng i-convert to PS. Kaya lang po, 'no, 'yung mga budget kasi natin ay continuing. Gagamitin pa po natin siya next year," he said.

(Maybe they were talking about the budget for the MOEE programs to be converted to PS. But our budget is continuing. We will use it next year.)

DepEd earlier said school division offices and other implementing units shall begin the processing of the payments on Monday, Dec. 18, and its distribution in cash the next day.

When asked what challenges DepEd saw, Poa said DepEd reminded the regions that the distribution should be orderly.

"We are constantly monitoring. Siyempre kinausap po natin 'yung mga regions to make sure that they have procedures in place para hindi naman po mahirapan ang ating mga teachers," he said.

(We are constantly monitoring. Of course, we talk to the regions to make sure that they have procedures in place so our teachers will not have a hard time.)

Poa said the distribution has already started in seven regions.

"Sa NCR ang latest update po natin ay they are just checking, 'no, 'yung amount and, of course, 'yung tax reductions and all that. And they are looking to distribute as soon as possible," he said.

(For the NCR, our latest update is they are checking the amount and the tax reductions and all that. And they are looking to distribute as soon as possible.)

Last Monday, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) called on DepEd to release the whole P20,000 SRI for teachers and personnel and not only the committed P18,000.

"This is again below the allowable amount of P20,000. This is happening over the past years already. Among all government agencies, only the DepEd is doing this. Teachers are once again deprived of having their deserved benefits on top of still being underpaid,” ACT national chairperson Vladimer Quetua said in a statement. — VDV, GMA Integrated News