Council tackles teachers’ problem on ATM withdrawals

CEBU, Philippines —  The Cebu City Council has urgently requested the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) to address the soonest possible time the predicament of public school teachers who have not been able to withdraw their salaries or incentives despite them already due for release.

Councilor Raul Alcoseba sponsored a resolution regarding the matter which was approved by the City Council on Wednesday.

Alcoseba said he received “concerning reports” regarding the problem of public school teachers who, for so a long time, have not been able to withdraw their salaries or incentives from the DBP Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) on the day due for the release of such, considering the limited number of DBP ATMs in the city.

He said this is resulting to queuing for considerable amount of time, and sometimes non-availability of cash from the ATMs or the machine becomes offline.

Relatively, Alcoseba said transacting with other banks’ ATMs is, most of the time, not possible during the release of salaries and incentives where they would advise to transact to DBP.

“These situations are very concerning and should be addressed the soonest possible time to avoid further unnecessary implications to the public school teachers and their families who mostly rely on their well-earned salaries or incentives to provide for their families, and to timely pay for their bills or obligations,” said Alcoseba.

The City Council earlier requested the Local School Board (LSB) to assist public schools and teachers in the timely purchase and additional provisions of printing equipment and materials.

This would include accessories in printing of modules for public schools in the city.

It was also Alcoseba who sponsored a resolution regarding the matter.

He said some teachers use their own money and resources just to secure and/or procure materials just to keep up with the schedule in printing and releasing of modules for their students.

The councilor said the city government through the LSB needs to consider the situation and assist public schools and teachers. — JMD (FREEMAN)