9,702 more teachers to get pay via ATM

An additional 9,702 public school teachers will soon receive their salaries through automated teller machines (ATMs), the Department of Education (DepEd) said yesterday.

This brings to 70,000 the number of school teachers and Dep—Ed personnel who benefit from the "checkless payroll system" which Education Secretary Raul Roco has initiated.

"We hope that all the half-million public school teachers could get their salaries through ATMs but we cannot do it full blast," Roco said.

Roco and officials of the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) inked yesterday a memorandum of agreement to institutionalize the ATM system in some schools in seven cities.

The cities are Legazpi, Cagayan de Oro, Tacloban, Ormoc, Dapitan, Kidapawan and Cotabato.

"The ATM system will ensure the timely release of the monthly payroll of the teachers. It is the most efficient manner of releasing their salaries," Roco noted.

Roco introduced the ATM system as part of efforts to eliminate the five-percent service fee collected from teachers every payday.

The fee goes to DepEd officials and employees who directly take part in preparing the teachers’ payroll checks.

Although the fee is legal under the General Appropriations Act, Roco questioned its propriety because those who benefit from it are already getting their regular salaries.

"We hope that through the ATM system, the take-home pay of teachers will increase. We are receiving requests from many teachers to implement this scheme in their regions," Roco said. — Sheila Crisostomo