Other Privileges of the Teaching Personnel in the Public and Private Schools

Teaching Personnel in the Public Schools

As Civil Service Employees, the public school teachers, supervisors, and administrators are enjoying special privileges. All privileges of the teaching personnel are prescribed by law.

Some of the privileges granted are the following:

1. Persons in Authority

Commonwealth Act No. 578

This law recognizes supervisors, teachers, and professors of public and recognized private schools as persons in authority. Any person guilty of assault made directly or indirectly upon a supervisor, teacher, or professor will be subject to penalty or imprisonment ranging from six months and one day to six years and a fine from P500.00 to P1,000.00. ( Approved, June 8, 1940 )

2. Study Leave

A one-year study leave with pay shall be granted to a teacher who has rendered at least seven years of satisfactory teaching.

Magna Carta’s Section 24 states: “During the period of such leave, the teacher shall be entitled to at least 60% of his salary: Provided, however, that no teacher shall be allowed to accumulate more than one-year study leave, unless he needs an additional semester to finish his thesis for a graduate study in education or allied courses. Provided, further that no compensation shall be due the teacher after the first year of such leave.”

3. Maternity LeaveCommonwealth Act No. 647, as amended by Rep. Acts No. 270 and 1564, provides maternity leave to regular and temporary female who are married.Regular teachers with two and a half or more years of service are entitled to 60 days of maternity leave with full pay, while those with less than two and a half years of service are entitled to 60 days, with half pay.Temporary teachers with at least two years of service are entitled to 60 days of maternity leave with half pay.

4. Outside Teaching

Ed. Department Order No. 9,s 1959 enclosed to B.P.S. Circular No. 4, s. 1960 and General letter No. 112, dated July 11,1960 , allows public school teachers, elementary, or high school to teach in private evening schools in not more than 12 hours a week in addition to their regular loads in their own schools.

5. Retirement Benefits

Teachers from the public school are given a one-range salary raise upon retirement. A teacher belonging to Step 3, for instance, will be classified upon retirement as within Step 4 of the next range. The salary for the higher range and monthly salary for the last three years before effective date of retirement will be the basis for computation of the lump sum retirement pay.

A lifetime monthly pension equivalent to 90% of their monthly salary is given to those who retire at age 60, under Presidential Decree No. 1146 (Old Age Pension). Under Republic Act 660, an annuity benefit equivalent to 80% of the monthly salary for the last three years shall be given to those who retire at age 63.

6. Vacation and Sick Leave

(Revised Administrative Code Sec.275, as amended by Commonwealth Act No. 220 and RA No. 218)Vacation and sick leave are cumulative and any part which may not be taken within the school calendar year may be carried over to the succeeding year.A sick teacher who has used his accrued leave privileges is entitled to go sick leave without pay.

7. Compulsory Insurance

(Commonwealth Act No. 186, as amended by Rep. Act Nos. 660 and 1616)Provides for life and retirement insurance.Membership in the GSIS is compulsory upon all teachers, except those who are substitute, upon all regularly and permanently appointed school employees.

8. Vacation Pay

All teachers, except those who are on vacation and sick leave basis are on the teacher’s leave basis. They are all entitled to pay during the Christmas and long vacations.

Temporary teachers who have served at least six months are also entitled to vacation pay. Teacher’s vacation pay may be commuted or paid in advance.

9. Service Credits

A teacher on the teacher’s leave basis is given service credit when he is asked to work during the vacation period.

This service credit may be used to offset past and future absences due to illness or other reasonable causes.

10. Salary Loan

Public school teachers are allowed to borrow money from the Government Insurance System, an amount not to exceed his monthly salary.

11. Free Medical Consultation

The public school teachers are required to have annual physical check-up.

They are given free medical consultation by the school physician.

12. Compensation for injuries Teachers are protected against the

consequences of employment injuries. The effects of the physical and nervous strain in the teacher’s health shall recognized as a compensable occupational disease in accordance with the existing laws.

13. Cost of Living and special Hardship Allowance The teachers salaries shall keep pace

with the rise in the cost of living by the payment of a cost-of-living allowance which shall automatically changes in a cost-of –living index.

Special hardship allowance are to be enjoyed by public school teachers in areas who are exposed to hardship /hazards.

14. Enjoy Academic Freedom

(Sec 5, Article XIV of the Phil. Constitution and by Rep. Act No. 4670 which is known the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers)The right of the teacher to an atmosphere of academic freedom in the discharge of his professional dutiesTeachers are therefore free to use any method of teaching they think best for the pupils.

15. Joining Teachers’ Organization Public school teachers shall have the right and

without previous authorization freely to establish or to join organizations.

16. Working Hours for Teachers Teachers engaged in actual classroom teaching

are required to render not more than six hours of actual classroom teaching a day.

They may be required to render more than six hours but not exceeding eight hours of actual classroom teaching a day upon payment of additional compensation.

17. Tenure of Office

Regular or Permanent Public School teachers and officials are granted stability of employment and security of tenure.

Teachers appointed on a provisional status or temporary who rendered ten years of continuous, efficient, and faithful service as of June 18, 1966, and all teachers who have rendered ten years, of extended permanent appointment.

PRIVILEGES OF TEACHERS IN PRIVATE SCHOOLS

Teachers in private schools, like the public school teachers, enjoy some privileges besides their tenure of office.Social Security System provided its members the following benefits: death, disability, sickness, and retirement benefits.

Other privileges

1. Maternity Leave (R.A. 679)

provides maternity leave to married female teachers in private schools.

2. Study Leave

Some private schools, colleges, and universities also grant study leave to their deserving faculty and staff members in the form of scholarship, visiting other schools in foreign countries, or exchange with teachers from foreign schools or universities.

3. Vacation PayIn some private schools or universities, teachers are given bonuses for extra work done during summer vacation.

4. Hospital PrivilegesBesides the provision in the Social security

concerning sickness benefits, teachers in some private schools, colleges and universities enjoy hospital privileges by becoming members of the hospitalization plan

OTHER LAWS

Republic Act No. 660

This Act amended Section 12 of Commonwealth Act 186. The Act provides for automatic retirement at the age of 65 if the teacher has completed 15 years of service. If he has not, he shall be allowed to continue in service until he completes 15 years, unless he is otherwise eligible for disability retirement. Upon specific approval of the President of the Republic of the Philippines, an employee may be allowed to continue to serve after the age of 65 if he possesses special qualifications and his service are needed. It shall be the duty of the latter’s automatic separation from the service at least sixty days before his retirement takes effect.

Republic Act No. 842 ( Amended R. A. No. 312 )

The salary Act of 1953 (R.A No. 842) provides for a revised salary scale and automatic salary

increases for public school officials, teachers, and other school personnel. This law allocates the grades and the salary scale for the various positions. This Act provides further that a teacher with educational qualifications or civil service eligibility higher than the standard required for the position to which he is appointed, shall be given a higher entrance salary than a teacher who merely meets the standards. It also provides that salaries of all the school personnel shall first be adjusted in accordance with the entrance salary rates prescribed in this Act. After the adjustments in salary has been provided, increases for regular personnel shall be automatically effected until the maximum rates have been attained. (Approved, May 1, 1953)

Republic Act No. 4670, entitled “ The Magna Carta for Public School Teachers”

The purpose of this Act is to promote and improve the social and economic status of public school

teachers – their living and working conditions, their terms of employment and career prospects. This will help public school teachers compare favorably with other professionals and therefore will attract and retain in the teaching profession more qualified people who are aware that education is an essential factor in the economic growth of the nation. (cf. Inclosure 1 and 2 for the full text)

Presidential Decree No. 1148 – Amending and Increasing the Pension of the Teachers Retired Under Act No. 3050

as Amended. Issued May 31, 1997.

Section 1 – The pension of a teacher who retired under Act No. 3050 shall be increased by one hundred pesos monthly, and that of every one of his/her beneficiaries, by fifty pesos monthly.

Section 2 – Appropriations for the fiscal year and annually thereafter shall come from inappropriate funds of the National Treasury.

Letters of Instructions (LOIs)LOI No. 998 – On the Purchase of Uniforms for

Certain Agencies of the National Government.Issued March 13, 1980.

- School teachers shall be given the option to receive their uniform allowance in the form of

cash or in the form of material centrally procured by the Ministry of Education and Culture at its head office or the regional office from HERDITEX Incorporated.

LOI No. 1414 – Directing the Evaluation of Proposal Intended to Improve Teacher Welfare.

Issued June 22, 1984.

- The Trustees of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) shall study and act on the possibilities of

(a) receiving the housing loan program and generally of improving on the benefits attendant to system membership and (b) supporting the establishment and operation of dormitories for school teachers.

Executive Orders Executive Order No. 500 – Establishing a New

System of Career Progression for Public School Teachers . Issued March 21, 1978. (Refer to Inclosure 1)

- The rationale behind this executive order is to retain quality teachers in the teaching profession. An excellent teacher can be promoted to the rank of a Master Teacher provided he meets all the necessary requirements for the position.

- It provides a bifurcated system of budgeting for the supervisory and the teaching group. The salary of the Head Teacher is the same as the salary of Master Teacher I, Principal I and Master Teacher II, etc.

- Remarks: Implemented in MEC Order No. 10, s. 1979 (Jan. 31, 1979), entitled “Implementing Rules and Regulations for the System of Career Progression for

Public School Teachers,” as promulgated by the Civil Service Commission, the Budget Commission, and the MEC. (Refer to Inclosure 4 for the full text)

Executive Order No. 189 – Legal Rights for Teachers

Labor standards laws fix and prescribe the minimum terms and conditions of employment such as wages, allowances, and benefits. They provide minimal standards of living for health efficiency and general well-being of the teachers.

Wages / Salaries

The International Labor Organization – United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ILO-

UNESCO) Conference in Paris, France adopted on Oct. 5, 1966 the following recommendations that would provide just wages to teachers

The salaries given to teachers should be fitting recognition of the enormous responsibility they have to

the society that they serve.

Compare favorably with salaries paid on other occupations requiring similar or equivalent

qualifications.

Provide teachers with the means to ensure a reasonable standards of living for themselves and their families as

well as to invest in further education and the pursuit of cultural activities, thus enhancing their

professional qualifications.

Take account of the fact that certain posts require higher qualifications and experience and carry

greater responsibilities.

Some Recent Laws and Issuances Governing Teachers’ Salaries

Executive Order No. 153 was issued by President C. Aquino on March 25, 1987 and took effect on March 1,

1987. It provided for 20% salary increase for the public elementary and secondary teachers but 15% only for the teachers in SCUs. This order was implemented through National Compensation Circular No. 47 and Local Budget Circular No. 29, issued by the Department of Budget and

Management on April 13, and April 2, 1987, respectively.

Republic Act No. 6642, otherwise known as General Appropriaions Act for 1988, granted another 10% increase for all government teachers, effective January 1, 1988. Its implementing rules and regulations are provided in National Compensation Circular (NCC) No. 51.

Wage Supplements

A wage supplement is an extra amount, whether in cash or in kind, which a teacher receives regularly, over and above his/her wages.

Cost of Living Allowance (COLA)

Public school teachers’ cost of living allowance is provided under the Magna Carta’s Section 18, which states that: “Teachers’ salaries shall, at the very least, keep pace with the rise in the cost of living by the payment of a cost of living allowance which shall follow automatically the changes in a cost-of-living index. The Secretary of Education shall recommend to Congress at least annually the apportion of the necessary funds for the cost-of- living allowance.”

Laws on Cost-of-Living Allowances

National Compensation Circular No. 41, which took effect on July 1, 1986 increased the former COLA of public school teachers by P150, raising the former P350 to P500 per month.

Additional COLA was provided by the national government in National Compensation Circular No. 52 effective January, 1988 increasing the COLA to P700.

The current salary rates of public school teachers, however, are still below the decent income threshold for a family of six members which is P162 per day of P4,860 monthly according to the March 8, 1988 figures of the Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics (BLES).

The purchasing power of the teachers’ pay is also fast eroded by the imposition of new taxes like the value added tax (VAT) which triggered another round of price hikes of basic goods and services by at least 20%.

Another law providing local COLA for the public school teachers is the Special Education Fund Act (republic Act 5447) as amended by Letter of Instructions No. 1462, section 2.4, issued on May 31, 1985, which states that:

“Allowances given to public school teachers out of the Special Education Fund (SEF) shall not exceed one hundred percent (100%) of the basic pay in first class local government units, seventy five percent (75%) in second and third class local government units, and fifty (50%) percent in fourth and lower class of local government units.”

This is the reason why some Manila teachers are given higher COLAs over and above the P700 per month provision from the national government. As an example, Makati and Parañaque public school teachers are receiving COLA which is equivalent to 100% of their basic salaries. This is the result of the militancy of teachers in negotiating for just shares from the SEF for their fringe benefits like the local COLA.

Clothing Allowance

An annual antional clothing allowance of P300 is given to all public school teachers under Sec. 33, Batas Pambansa No. 866 (General Appropriation Act of 1985)

Manila teachers receive an additional P300 local, or city/municipal government share. Quezon City, Marikina, Mandaluyong and San Juan teachers are granted a local

share of P900.This is likewise a product of their unrelenting struggles during the previous years.

Year-End Bonus and Cash Gift

By virtue of Executive Order No. 130, all government teachers and employees shall be granted a year-end bonus equivalent to one-month basic salary and a cash gift of P1,000. The EO is implemented through NCC No. 49, effective November 13, 19887. The year-end bonus corresponds to the 13th- month pay given to private employees.

Medical Allowance

An annual medical allowance of P2,000 was given to all government teachers and employees in 1986 only. But it ceased to be granted with the issuance of Executive Order No. 147 on March 3, 1987. Government teachers and employees are now

clamoring for the regularization of this benefit due to increasing cases of work-related illnesses affecting civil servants throughout the country. DECS officials, however, recently came out with the statistics that only 10% of the 350,000 public school teachers were afflicted with tuberculosis.

Additional Compensation For Extra Work

Public school teachers must be paid additional compensation equivalent to 25% of their basic pay for extra work rendered.

Magna Carta’s Section 14 states that: “Notwithstanding any provisions of existing law to the contrary, co-curricular and out-of- school activities and any other activity outside what is defined as normal duties of any teacher should be paid an additional compensation of at least 25% of his/her regular remuneration after the teacher has completed at least six hours of classroom teaching a day.”

Subsidy for Instructional Materials

The 1981 national budget under Batas Pambansa No. 80 initiated the practice of giving the public school teacher P100 a year for chalk and other school supplies. This practice was institutionalized through DECS Memorandum No. 79, dated Feb 13, 1981.

Other Labor Standards

Subject Load and Teaching Hours - Public school teachers engaged in classroom instruction may not be required to render more than six hours of classroom teaching. Working beyond these hours entitles teachers to receive an additional compensation of at least 25% of their regular remuneration.

Health and Welfare - Among the health and welfare benefits guaranteed to teachers under the Law are:

(a) free compulsory medical examination once a year

(b) compensation for work-connected diseases or injuriesaccording to existing workmen’s compensation laws

(c) 60-day maternity leave during which a female teacher is entitled to full pay

GSIS, MEDICARE and PPSTA Benefits

GSIS Benefits

(a) Permanent and/or partial disability benefits for work- related injury or illness, payable in lump sum or monthly basis

(b) Sickness-income benefits for non-work related injury or illness, payable in lump sum or monthly basis

(c) Optional life insurance for dependents, with premium costs lower than those available from private insurance companies

(d) Survivorship benefits that accrue to dependents of members and pensioners, payable in

monthly pension

(e) Funeral benefits raised from P750 to P1,000

Medicare

(a) Hospitalization benefits

(b) Surgical expense benefits

(c) Medical expense benefits

(d) Sterilization expense benefits

PPSTA Benefits

(a) Mutual aid sytem

(b) Free accident insurance worth P2,000

(c) Mutual financial assistance in cases of hospitalization and calamity

No Discrimination Policy (RA 4670, Section 10)

“There shall be no discrimination whatsoever in entrance to the teaching profession or during its exercise, or in the termination of services other than professional consideration.”

Married Teachers (RA 4670, Section 11)

Whenever possible, the proper authorities shall take all steps to enable married couples, both of whom are public school teachers, to be employed in the same locality.

Indefinite Leave (RA 4670, Section 25)

An indefinite sick leave shall be granted to teachers when the nature of illness demands a long treatment that will exceed one year at the least.

THANK YOU