07/11/2021
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ) in DepEd with ANSWERS...
One teacher raised a number of questions and I chose to answer publicly to educate the rest of other concerned DepEd teachers on the following points. Please, do your share to access and read accurate, valid, reliable, and relevant information to be fully knowledgeable and informed because we are all Professional Teachers employed by the government to do our ESSENTIAL WORK and MANDATE as government servants. Hindi pwede na WALA TAYONG ALAM or HINDI NATIN NAIINTINDIHAN dahil teachers at educators nga tayo, ‘di ba? Since we are NOT the Employers of our own selves, we are required to follow DepEd and Civil Service policies, rules and PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS about our work and profession:
1. WHY ARE TEACHERS REQUIRED TO WEAR DepEd uniform?
DepEd teachers and personnel need to wear our DepEd uniform as part of our professional identity, including ARTA-compliant I.D. as required by Section 8 (f) of RA 9485 (Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007). DepEd Memorandum No. 16 s 2021 provides a new set of DepEd uniform since a P6,000 Uniform & Clothing Allowance is given to every teacher and personnel each year based on DBM Budget Circular 2018-1 dated March 8, 2018, entitled “Rules and Regulations on the Grant of Uniform/Clothing Allowance to Civilian Government Personnel”. SY 2021-2022 is considered as a transition period so a teacher may / may not yet wear the new DepEd uniform, but it shall be REQUIRED next School Year 2022-2023. Bakit ba may tinatanggap tayo na Uniform & Clothing Allowance kung ayaw naman pala nating magsuot ng uniform? Mabuti pa pala ang Salesgirl o Taxi Driver marunong pang mag-uniform?
As teachers, we need to wear our uniform with pride as a symbol of recognition and respect to our profession. Di ba dapat masaya tayo, nagpapasalamat tayo sa Panginoon na teacher tayo, marangal ang ating trabaho, pinagkakatiwalaan tayo ng gobyerno at mga tao, may galang tayo sa ating mga sarili, at dahil dito, ginagalang tayo ng ibang tao at ng ating mga estudyante. (Dapat pa bang ipaliwanag ito?🤔)
2. WHY ARE TEACHERS REQUIRED TO ATTEND TRAININGS and LEARNING ACTION CELL (LAC)?
Trainings and School Learning Action Cells (LAC) are part of our professional standards and ESSENTIAL WORK especially now that most of the things that we do are so NEW to us. IN-SERVICE TRAININGS are REQUIRED as an ESSENTIAL WORK to be DONE REGULARLY to ENSURE STANDARDS of PRACTICE of the TEACHING PROFESSION and CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT. Hindi ibig sabihin na matagal nang g**o ay talagang MAGALING NA? Come to realize that today’s Education is supported by technology and it is FAST EVOLVING, so, a TEACHER HAS TO REGULARLY KEEP PACE WITH THE EMERGING SITUATION and CHANGES kaya dapat may regular Trainings taon-taon, at may LAC bawat buwan, DAHIL parte yan ng ESSENTIAL WORK at diyan natututo ang bawat teacher by sharing and LEARNING TOGETHER through LAC - a Professional Learning Community. Hindi lang basta training 'yan or LAC lang 'yan - again, these activities are REQUIRED as ESSENTIAL WORK. Even if one is already an expert, he/she has to share his/her expertise through capability building, training, coaching, mentoring, and LAC. TEACHING & LEARNING also goes through EVOLUTION and as teachers, WE CANNOT AFFORD to REMAIN OBSOLETE especially with the use of existing technology and NEW / RELEVANT APPROACHES. With the availability of information in the Internet, baka mas maging matalino at magaling pa ang mga estudyante kesa sa g**o? Ano pa ngayon ang katuturan bakit may mga g**o? Kaya, dapat PATULOY ang TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT para UPDATED palagi ang mga g**o. This is the reason why FULLY VACCINATED teachers / personnel are allowed to participate in on-site trainings through limited face-to-face, complying with STRICTER health & safety protocols. Those teachers / personnel with symptoms may file a Sick Leave (if they cannot produce outputs through WFH); and those who are unvaccinated may opt to participate virtually. Trainings and LAC are NOT MERE gatherings, these are ESSENTIAL WORK and if held in procured seminar venues, these ESSENTIAL ACTIVITIES/WORK are funded by government, went through procurement process, ensured to be compliant to Health & Safety Protocols, monitored, evaluated, and reported as WORK ACCOMPLISHMENTS. So, any teacher who does not understand this should now come to understand the kind of work and mandate that he/she has brought upon himself/herself when he/she was still applying for work, promised to fulfill, taken an OATH before God, and committed to do.
Ang mga bawal na gatherings ay tulad ng mga PARTY dito, PARTY doon; FIESTA dito, GALA doon - na HINDI naman ESSENTIAL WORK.
3. WHY DO TEACHERS NEED TO BE FULLY VACCINATED?
Vaccination just like immunization uses vaccines or biochemical intervention introduced to the body to allow it to develop resistance, defense and greater degree of protection against specific disease-causing organisms and particles like bacteria and viruses. Vaccines went through rigorous research and development, quality control, assessment, and were found to be SAFE and EFFECTIVE. NO Medical Scientist or Doctor would prescribe a vaccine if it is harmful. 70% of DepEd Bacolod teachers are fully vaccinated. SADLY and SCARY, 10 out of 10 or 100% of our Covid-19 related deaths occurred to UNVACCINATED teachers/personnel.
One may choose to protect self by getting FULLY VACCINATED, or NOT, and face the risk of getting Covid-19 virus and try to experiment whether one’s unvaccinated body can overcome it, succumb to it and just die??? Moreover, DO NOT SETTLE WITH HEARSAY or FAKE NEWS received from unauthorized sources. As a professional teacher, PLEASE, READ Scientific and Medical Journals and research reports on the health benefits of vaccines / vaccination at https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/covid-19-vaccines, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ox_J2o4dAOk, https://doh.gov.ph/faqs/vaccines
PLEASE, BE RESPONSIBLE to EDUCATE ONESELF to become an Information Literate professional.
4. WHY DO TEACHERS NEED TO CONDUCT DEMONSTRATION TEACHING SO THEY WILL BE RATED FOR THEIR IPCRF?
DepEd Order No. 2 s 2015 PRESCRIBES the guidelines and implementation of Results-Based Performance Management System (RPMS). Meaning, an IPCRF Rating is a REQUIREMENT to ALL government officials, employees and teachers every year. NO ONE IS EXCUSED or EXEMPTED. During this pandemic, teaching competencies are difficult to evaluate and rate due to absence of face-to-face classes, hence, teachers are offered the option to conduct Demonstration Teaching to allow the Immediate Superior/Rater to observe, evaluate and objectively rate one’s teaching competencies in addition to other day-to-day work accomplishments and performance. Those teachers who conduct online classes and RBI episodes are being observed and rated while they facilitate these blended distance learning sessions/modalities and no need for them to conduct demo teaching.
A teacher is given the option to perform Demonstration Teaching or not. Those who wish NOT to demo, will be allowed, but their IPCRF Rating will be limited to certain areas that the Rater has observed. So, does the teacher want a full performance evaluation to maximize his/her IPCRF Rating, or be contented with a limited performance evaluation and settle with a minimum rating? It is still a teacher’s choice to be rated fully or not. Just be reminded that one’s IPCRF Rating is basis for the granting of Performance Based Bonus (PBB), promotion, reclassification, reward, and recognition, or worst, disciplinary action. How can one inflict disservice to oneself by refusing to be objectively evaluated and rated through Demo Teaching? Teaching is a teacher’s mandate. WHY refuse to do it?
A Satisfactory Rating will disqualify a teacher for promotion since DepEd policy requires at least Very Satisfactory (VS) Ratings for the last 3 rating periods. Further, 2 consecutive Unsatisfactory Ratings can be a ground for a teacher / personnel to be DROPPED from the Rolls after due notice (Section 93 (b) (1), Rule 19 of the Revised Rules on Administrative Cases in the Civil Service). Further, Sec. 2 Rule XII of Omnibus Rules of the Civil Service provides that “Officers and employees who are either habitually absent or have unsatisfactory or poor performance or have shown to be physically and mentally unfit to perform their duties may be Dropped from the Rolls subject to prescribed procedures.”
5. WHY ARE TEACHERS REQUIRED TO SUBMIT “WORK ACCOMPLISHMENTS” WHEN THEY ARE ON “WORK FROM HOME” STATUS?
Civil Service Commission Memorandum Circular No. 18, s. 2020 provides for Alternative Work Arrangement (AWA) depending on the state of public health.
Work From Home (WFH) arrangement shall be adopted in areas under ECQ and MECQ as declared by IATF. WFH may be adopted in areas under GCQ and MGCQ when transportation is reduced or physical distancing is required onsite. Based on Section 3 (e) of MC 18, teachers and employees who applied for WFH arrangement shall:
1. be given tasks to be performed to the full extent as possible in terms of man-days per workweek (1 day WFH per week = 8 hours of work while in the home)
2. make themselves available at work hours - meaning that while on WFH, they can be readily contacted and they promptly respond at least through text/call during 8am - 12nn, and 1:00pm - 5:00pm when their attention is called.
Other alternative work arrangements maybe adapted provided that their services shall complete a 40-hour workweek (Section 3.5).
Section 5.2 provides that “Requests for a different schedule of AWA/WFH for those with comorbidity shall be supported with a MEDICAL CERTIFICATE or MEDICAL RECORDS.”
Section 5 provides “Agencies shall adopt a monitoring mechanism such as SUBMISSION of daily/weekly ACCOMPLISHMENT REPORT/s, etc., during the implementation of the alternative work arrangements to ENSURE that PUBLIC SERVICE DELIVERY is NOT PREJUDICED.”
Since, CSC policy requires “No Work, No Pay”, any teacher / personnel who is on WFH and who failed to submit proof of work, work outputs or work accomplishments to his/her Superior shall be considered ABSENT, unless, the teacher / personnel files a Sick Leave to show that he / she was sick during the days that he/she failed to submit Work Accomplishments while on WFH.
6. WHY DO TEACHERS NEED TO PRESENT or BEHAVE THEMSELVES PROFESSIONALLY IN PUBLIC and SOCIAL MEDIA?
RA 10175 or “Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012” provides in Chapter 2 Section 4 (c) (4) “Libel. — The unlawful or prohibited acts of libel as defined in Article 355 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended, committed through a computer system or any other similar means which may be devised in the future.”
Pursuant to RA 7836 or "Philippine Teachers Professionalization Act of 1994" (paragraph e, Article 11), and PD No. 223 (paragraph a, Section 6) as amended, The Board for Professional Teachers, adopts a “Code of Ethics for Professional Teachers”:
Article II Section 2. Every teacher or school official shall ACTIVELY HELP CARRYOUT the declared policies of the state, and shall take an OATH to this effect.
Article II Section 3. In the interest of the state and the Filipino people, as much as of his own, EVERY TEACHER shall be PHYSICALLY, MENTALLY, and MORALLY FIT.
Article IV Section 1. Every teacher shall actively ensure that teaching is the noblest profession, and shall manifest GENUINE ENTHUSIASM and PRIDE in teaching as a noble calling.
Article IV Section 2. Every teacher shall UPHOLD the HIGHEST POSSIBLE STANDARDS of quality education, shall make the best preparations for the career of teaching, and shall be AT HIS/HER BEST AT ALL TIMES in the practice of his/her profession.
Article IX Section 1: Every teacher shall ESTABLISH and MAINTAIN CORDIAL RELATIONS with parents and shall conduct himself/herself to merit their confidence and respect.
Article XI Section 1. A teacher is above all a human being endowed with life for which it is the highest obligation to LIVE WITH DIGNITY at all times whether in school, in the home, or any place.
Article XI. Section 2. A teacher shall place premium upon SELF-DISCIPLINE as primary principle of personal behavior in all relationships with others and in all situations.
Article XI Section 3. A teacher shall maintain at all times a DIGNIFIED PERSONALITY which could serve as A MODEL WORTHY OF EMULATION by learners, peers, and all others.
RA 6713 or “Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees”, provides:
Section 4. Norms of Conduct of Public Officials and Employees. - (A) Every public official and employee shall observe the following as standards of personal conduct in the discharge and ex*****on of official duties:
(a) Commitment to public interest. - Public officials and employees shall always uphold the public interest over and above personal interest. All government resources and powers of their respective offices must be employed and used efficiently, effectively, honestly and economically, particularly to avoid wastage in public funds and revenues.
(b) Professionalism. - Public officials and employees shall perform and discharge their duties with the highest degree of excellence, professionalism, intelligence and skill. They shall enter public service with utmost devotion and dedication to duty. They shall endeavor to discourage wrong perceptions of their roles as dispensers or peddlers of undue patronage.
(c) Justness and sincerity. - Public officials and employees shall remain true to the people at all times. They must act with justness and sincerity and shall not discriminate against anyone, especially the poor and the underprivileged. They shall at all times respect the rights of others, and shall refrain from doing acts contrary to law, good morals, good customs, public policy, public order, public safety and public interest. They shall not dispense or extend undue favors on account of their office to their relatives whether by consanguinity or affinity except with respect to appointments of such relatives to positions considered strictly confidential or as members of their personal staff whose terms are coterminous with theirs.
(d) Political neutrality. - Public officials and employees shall provide service to everyone without unfair discrimination and regardless of party affiliation or preference.
(e) Responsiveness to the public. - Public officials and employees shall extend prompt, courteous, and adequate service to the public. Unless otherwise provided by law or when required by the public interest, public officials and employees shall provide information of their policies and procedures in clear and understandable language, ensure openness of information, public consultations and hearings whenever appropriate, encourage suggestions, simplify and systematize policy, rules and procedures, avoid red tape and develop an understanding and appreciation of the socio-economic conditions prevailing in the country, especially in the depressed rural and urban areas.
(f) Nationalism and patriotism. - Public officials and employees shall at all times be loyal to the Republic and to the Filipino people, promote the use of locally produced goods, resources and technology and encourage appreciation and pride of country and people. They shall endeavor to maintain and defend Philippine sovereignty against foreign intrusion.
(g) Commitment to democracy. - Public officials and employees shall commit themselves to the democratic way of life and values, maintain the principle of public accountability, and manifest by deeds the supremacy of civilian authority over the military. They shall at all times uphold the Constitution and put loyalty to country above loyalty to persons or party.
(h) Simple living. - Public officials and employees and their families shall lead modest lives appropriate to their positions and income. They shall not indulge in extravagant or ostentatious display of wealth in any form.
-END-
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