MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has eased the rules on granting financial assistance to K to 12-affected teachers because of the low number of the agency’s Adjustment Measures Program (AMP) beneficiaries.
DOLE’s Bureau of Local Employment (BLE) director Dominique Tutay on Monday said few teachers who were displaced due to the full implementation of the K-12 program are taking advantage of the program.
“There are only over 200 availees among the 1,200 teachers of higher education institutions affected by the K-12 program,” Tutay disclosed.
As of late, the DOLE has spent only P40 million of the P500-million fund allocated for the program, according to Tutay.
Under the program, displaced teachers will receive at least P10,000 monthly or 75 percent of their last monthly gross salary or the prevailing median salary, whichever is the highest.
“The financial support shall be provided monthly for six months to help them in their transition to full-time or self-employment,” she said.
To cover more displaced teachers, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III signed Monday a new department order simplifying the documentary requirements for the K-12 AMP.
A group of teachers previously complained that strict requirements have made it difficult for K-12 displaced teachers and other personnel to avail themselves of the government aid.
With the new guidelines, Tutay said, DOLE expects more teachers would avail themselves of the program.
More teachers are likely to be displaced in the coming months, but the labor official said DOLE sees a lower number compared with previous projections.
She said one projection showed that about 23,000 teachers and non-teaching personnel could be displaced by the program during the current school year.