Rizal Hall, Malacañan Palace
11 September 2012
Just in time for the celebration of National Teachers’ Month, Budget and Management Sec. Butch Abad, Education Sec. Armin Luistro, and Government Service Insurance System President and General Manager Robert Vergara inked an agreement to implement a realistic and equitable solution to the chronic issue of premium-in-arrears of 784,602 DepEd employees from July 1997 to December 2010 in Malacañang. President Benigno S. Aquino III served as the prime witness during the signing ceremony.
From July 1997 to December 2010, the Department of Education was not able to remit contributions of its employees to GSIS. In effect, the teaching and non-teaching personnel of DepEd could not claim benefits that are supposedly befitting the servicing, retired and resigned DepEd employees.
To resolve the problem, DBM agreed to settle the P6.92 billion unpaid DepEd Government Share premium deficiencies. The first 50% totalling to P3.46 billion will be paid in advance to expedite the payment terms. The remaining half will be released upon validation of the amount in arrears by the Commission on Audit. Part of the agreement is that DepEd and GSIS will cooperate with the Commission on Audit to accelerate the validation process so that it will be completed this year.
GSIS granted a five percent (5%) discount to the total unpaid amount as well as waived the accumulated interest worth P14 billion.
With the realization of the memorandum of agreement, DepEd employees who are in active service will be able to enjoy their premium such as higher loanable amounts and increased retirement benefits. The retired employees’ benefits will be refunded and pensions will be adjusted accordingly. Most importantly, all DepEd employees will be included in the National Payroll System in 2013.
President Aquino was joined by other witnesses including Senate Committee on Education Chairperson Edgardo Angara, Alliance of Concerned Teachers Party-List Representative Antonio Tinio, GSIS Board of Trustees Chairman Daniel Lacson Jr., Manila 6th District Representative Rosenda Ann Ocampo, Philippine Public School Teachers Association (PPSTA) General Manager Carlos Yturtueza, Manila Public School Teachers Association (MPSTA) President Benjamin Valbuena and Department of Education-National Employees Union (DepEd-NEU) President Domingo Alidon.
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