Teachers now reaping gains from Gullas bill

For more than 50 years, the illegal deduction, erroneous computations and delayed salaries have been silently tolerated by the almost half a million teachers in the country.

But with the full implementation of the regionalization of the IBM Payroll System of the Department of Education, they will no longer have to worry with these problems.

Gloria Miano, district supervisor of the Mandaue City Division, said that aside from the lack of classroom, they also used to bear with the problem of a delayed salary.

Miano recalled that when she was hired as a teacher in 1974, she was only able to receive her salary in February 1975.

"Naglisod ko pag adjust atong panahona kay wala man koy sweldo. Dako g'yud ang natabang ani nga project ni Sir (Jose) "Dodong" Gullas. Dako ang difference kaniadto nga wala pa ang decentralization ug karon nga naa na kay among sweldo madawat na namo kada bulan. Mao nga magpasalamat jud mi niya sa iyanag dako nga natabang namo," she said.

Lourdes Tolod of Iligan City also said that the decentralization made it easy for the department to make corresponding adjustments to their salaries.

"It made less expensive for us because we do not have to travel to Manila to correct everything. We are so thankful to congressman Gullas for this big help that created a landmark in education," she said.

Miano and Tolod were just two of the teachers who gathered yesterday at the Ecotech Center in Lahug to thank Gullas for the contribution he had made for education.

Gullas, the executive vice president of the University of the Visayas, successfully pushed for the passage of House Bill 2542 or the Act Regionalizing the Department of Education Payroll Service Division.

After winning the congressional seat of the Cebu first district, Gullas consulted his constituents on their problems and concerns. But what touched him deeply was when the teachers told him of their problems regarding the processing and releasing of their salaries under a centralized payroll office.

When he filed the bill in August 2001, several of his colleagues in the House cautioned him that he would meet stiff opposition from several sectors. In fact, they told him that some similar bills filed in the past had died a natural death.

Undaunted, Gullas went ahead with his move and defended his bill during a series of committee hearings conducted by Rep. Edmundo Reyes Jr., chairman of the House committee on basic education. He also took the time talking to his colleagues at informal gatherings on the merit of the bill to gain their support.

On March 13, 2002 the committee approved the bill and on September 4, 2002, it was submitted to Speaker Jose de Venecia who facilitated its approval in the Lower House. The following month, the bill was transmitted to the Senate.

In the meantime, Gullas did an extensive advocacy campaign among teachers and key education officials. Resolutions expressing support to the bill were secured and sent to the Congress, the Office of the President and the education secretary.

He also organized a group composed of education officials and teachers to lobby for the Senate approval of the bill.

In late 2003, former DepEd Secretary Edilberto de Jesus, convinced of the importance of the project, decided to implement the project through an administrative order.

Consequently, DepEd undersecretary Juan Miguel Luz came up with a blueprint for a payroll decentralization involving all regional offices in the country except for Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Region IV and the National Capital Region. - Jasmin R. Uy/LPM