From bad to worse

Teachers are probably the most overworked, underpaid, unappreciated and unheralded professionals.

While our government has declared Sept. 5 to Oct. 5 as National Teachers’ Month, the latter date being World Teachers’ Day, this is hardly enough to recognize teachers for the role and service that they play in building the nation.

Because of their low pay, teachers are forced to borrow money to make ends meet.

But even with this one, our government would rather serve the interest of a few than of the many.

Just this year, the Department of Education issued its highly controversial DepdEd Order 5 which enumerated the order in which deductions to salaries of public school teachers’ salaries can be made. First on the list are contributions or loans to the BIR, PhilHealth, GSIS and HDMF. Second are those owed to non-stock savings and loan associations, mutual benefit associations, and cooperatives. Third are those to associations or provident funds organized and managed by government employees. Fourth are loans to government financial institutions. Fifth are those to insurance companies and last, those owed to thrift banks and rural banks.

However, no deductions will be made that will reduce the employee’s net take home pay to lower than P5,000 which is the mandatory threshold.

Last March, the DepEd also suspended its automatic payroll deduction system (APDS) for loans and insurance payments. The Philippine Public School Teachers Association has said that as a result, it will not be able to accommodate new applications for its Sariling Sikap Loan since they will have no reliable means of collecting the loan amortizations. Even Insurance Commissioner Dennis Funa has said that termination of its agreement with the DepEd for the APDS would adversely affect the insurance industry.

The enumeration given by the DepEd is actually in accordance with RA 10964 or the General Appropriations Act of 2018. How Congress came up with such an order of priority behooves many, but one thing is sure: certain vested interests were able to convince their colleagues in Congress to accommodate their requests at the expense of the welfare of public school teachers who are now faced with the possibility of doors being closed to them in terms of other sources of financing.

Why, for instance, would thrift banks and rural banks agree to lend to public school teachers when there is no assurance that the former can collect the amortizations via the APDS? Since there is no splitting of deductions under DepEd Order 5, it is possible that after all the deductions under Numbers 1-5 are made and given the P5,000 mandatory threshold, there is nothing left for these private lending institutions.

One particular party-list group in Congress is itself engaged in lending to public school teachers and has supported the move to make non-stock SLAs, mutual benefit associations and cooperatives second on the list.

The Manila Teachers Partylist Group runs its own lending business specifically targeting our public school teachers, known as the Manila Teachers’ Mutual Aid System Inc. (MTMAS). From this service, members of the Manila Teachers Savings and Loan Association Inc. (MTSLAI) can avail of salary loans.

The fact is, many public school teachers prefer borrowing from provident funds, insurance companies and thrift and rural banks due to their relatively lower interest rates and efficient processing of salary loans.

As a party-list group representing public school teachers, Manila Teachers would better serve its constituents’ interest if it instead supports moves giving teachers the freedom to choose from what entities they would want to borrow money from. If DepEd wants to prevent teachers from over-borrowing, this is obviously not the solution. By reducing the number of formal lending options available to teachers, the DepEd and our government may just be opening the doors once again to loan sharks.

Zamboangueños jackpot

Zamboangueños are optimistic that their electricity woes will now be solved after their power distributor awarded the winning bidder and new partner, Crowninvestments Holdings Inc. (CHI) with an investor manager contract (IMC) for the management and operation of Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative Inc. (Zamcelco).

The winning bid of P2.5 billion will be used in managing the operations of the cooperative which has been suffering from debts and a debilitating systems loss of as much as 23 percent, causing persistent power interruptions around Zamboanga City.

 Zamboanga City residents are now looking forward to an end to power outages and maybe, even lower power rates for some 128,000 households.

Technology ready

As more modern workplaces now demand digital skills, it has become paramount for educators to prepare its students for a digital workplace.

In explaining the importance of digital tools in learning, Microsoft Philippines education programs lead Clarissa Segismundo pointed out that how students use technology is crucial in promoting collaboration, critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Through the Microsoft Education Ambassadors Program, Microsoft and UnionBank are working together to transform the educational landscape in the Philippines by equipping educators and students with the right skills. The program aims to empower schools, educators and students with 21st century skills through the proper use of technology for teaching and learning.

To date, there are over 1,000 Microsoft education ambassadors advocating teaching with technology in various parts of the country.

Segismundo said that at Microsoft, they recognize the value of the country’s young minds in shaping the future, adding that by equipping them with work-ready skills with the support of industry partners like UnionBank, they are paving the way toward employability and economic progress.

With UnionBank’s goal of “Making a Difference,” bank senior EVP and chief transformation officer Henry Aguda said they hope to truly make a difference with Microsoft by opening  new doors of opportunities for the youth through technology.

Meanwhile, UnionBank SVP and HR director Michaela Rubio, who developed the program with Microsoft, said that with their extensive experience in the industry, UnionBank’s education ambassadors can share valuable insight on the demands and requirements of the modern workplace.

She said that as Microsoft education ambassadors, UnionBank employees will serve as inspiration and valued resource persons for students and teachers since they possess the necessary expertise and skills to meet industry standards and can pass these on to the next generation.

As ambassadors of education and technology, UnionBank’s MEAs will be training teachers on Microsoft tools and technologies to help improve productivity, classroom engagement, and learning outcomes.

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