DepEd reopens accreditation of private lending institutions

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Education (DepEd) is reopening the accreditation of private lending institutions (PLIs) that can offer loans to its half a million employees, including more than 400,000 public school teachers.

PLIs that will be considered are those that can present “alternative credit windows with better terms and lower financial charges” on loans availed by teachers and DepEd personnel.

The institutions will collect payments using the automatic payroll deduction system (APDS).

Education Secretary Armin Luistro said there is a need to widen the field some more so that public school teachers and non-teaching personnel can choose which PLIs can give them the best offer.

“This is part of our ongoing reforms to prevent our teachers from falling prey to loan sharks,” he said.

During the time of former DepEd undersecretary Juan Miguel Luz, PLIs that charged exorbitant fees and unreasonable loan terms were deleted from the accreditation list.

The grant of automatic payroll deduction for loans extended to public school teachers and employees through the issuance of a lending code is a privilege extended by DepEd and not a matter of right to be invoked by any outside party, the department said.

Applications for PLI accreditation may be submitted to the Office of the Undersecretary for Finance and Administration until March 31, 2013.

Interested PLIs may view the complete requirements and accreditation criteria by downloading DepEd Memorandum No. 228 series of 2011 at www.deped.gov.ph.