According to the (DepEd), just P18,000 will be made available for the payment of the SRI for all department employees, including teachers. In a statement, ACT Chairman Quetua remarked, “This is again below the permitted limit of 20,000.” In 2023, SRIs were sent to nearly 900,000 teachers who work for the Department of Education.
This year, President Marcos awarded gratuity and SRI to all government personnel, including contract of service and job order staff. Marcos authorized P20,000 SRI for employees in the executive branch, which includes staff members and teachers in public schools. However, the agency stated that only P18,000 would be given out this year due to limitations in “savings,” which is where DepEd gets funding for SRI. In 2022, P15,000 had been given to DepEd teachers.
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According to ACT, instructors now anticipate a complete reward each year but only receive a portion of it. “Despite the difficulties and crisis the education sector is currently facing, the national government should make sure that teachers and DepEd employees receive their benefits in full and on time in recognition of their invaluable service,” Quetua stated.
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What is SRI?
Administrative Order (AO) No. 12 permits the DepEd to provide eligible employees a one-time Service Recognition Incentive (SRI) once a year at a consistent amount not to exceed twenty thousand pesos (PhP20,000.00).
A uniform sum of eighteen thousand pesos (PhP18,000.00) would be distributed to qualified employees by DepEd by the memo it issued on December 15, 2023. Payment processing and commencement by SDOs and other Implementing Units will start during the third week of December.
To prevent further delays in the SRI release, the default form of distribution will be IN CASH ONLY, except for teachers who live in remote places – teacher SRls will only be issued via INDIVIDUAL CHECK upon written request, rather than through their ATMs. The process of dividing up teacher releases through ATMs will take longer because it is a large division, which may interfere with and hinder the releases of others who receive their releases by cash.
It is the responsibility of each school head to compile the list of qualified employees for the district bookkeepers to combine. Before submitting the list to this office, the District Administrative Officer II must confirm and validate the information provided by the District Bookkeepers. The designated bookkeepers in districts/schools without an Administrative Officer II are responsible for validating data.
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Requirements
The following requirements, which are listed in Section 2 of Administrative Order No. 12, must be met before SRI can be granted:
- Non-government employees work in regular, temporary, or contract roles;
- Employees are still employed by the government as of November 30. (Persons who resigned, separated, and were hired again on November 29 and after are not eligible for the SRI)
- Employees, including those working under any of the different work arrangements recommended by the Civil Service Commission, have completed at least four (4) months of acceptable service as of November 30
- A pro-rated portion of the SRI will be awarded to those who, as of November 30, had not completed four (4) months of satisfactory service in total or cumulatively. The amount will be as follows:
- Employees who have not received any year-end benefits this year in addition to those permitted by Republic Act (RA) No. 6686, as revised by RA No. 8441.
Process
On or before the third week of December, a scanned copy of the signed report and an Excel file (soft copy) of the combined report must be sent to the appropriate email address of the Division Office employee in responsibility.
The Division Office will process the given list following validation. An aggregate sum equal to the number of employees will be transferred as a cash advance to the school’s bank account. The designated SDO employees will provide a payroll, which will be printed along with the check issuance, to the District Bookkeepers/AOII.
The officer in charge will write a check payable to the specific Accountable Officer and cash the check. Next, he or she will arrange for the SRI to be paid out in cash to the qualified employee. Teachers who live in remote places and submit written requests will each receive a separate check. It is recommended that Accountable Officers plan for the release and payout of funds and make sure that DepEd officials and staff receive the entire amount, adhering to current accounting, auditing, and budgetary requirements.
Not later than the 2nd week of January, the liquidation and accompanying documentation must be sent to the District Bookkeepers, who will be handling it under the supervision of the District Administrative Officer II.
Video: BENEFITS OF GOVERNMENT TEACHER LIST OF DEPED TEACHERS BENEFITS, BONUSES ALLOWANCES
Watch the video below to learn more about other government benefits, in addition to the SRI benefits for DepEd teachers.