10 August 2024 – On Tuesday, Education Secretary Sonny Angara convened with the Department of Education-National Employees Union (DepEd-NEU) National Executive Officers and National Board of Trustees at the DepEd Central Office. The meeting aimed to address the concerns of non-teaching personnel within the department.
Secretary Angara was joined by DepEd NEU National President Atty. Domingo B. Alidon, Undersecretary for Finance Annalyn M. Sevilla, OIC-Undersecretary for Human Resource and Organizational Development and Administration Wilfredo E. Cabral, Undersecretary for Operations Atty. Revsee Escobedo, and other DepEd and DepEd-NEU officials. The discussions focused on issues raised by the NEU and sought to develop resolutions to benefit the department’s staff.
A significant topic of discussion was the DepEd NEU’s proposal to review DepEd Order No. 002, s. 2024, which mandates the immediate removal of administrative tasks from public school teachers. “We will track everything. I will assign HR and the Operations team to take note of all the suggestions. There are many professions involved, and I am sure we can create a career path progression. It may take time, so please bear with us, but we will study it thoroughly,” Secretary Angara stated.
The DepEd-NEU also proposed allocating the 2023 Collective Negotiation Agreement Incentive (CNAI) of P3,000, including savings pooled from DepEd Field offices, and a retirement benefit of P20,000 for DepEd Non-Teaching Employees across all governance levels.
Additionally, the DepEd-NEU recommended that the department issue a directive to ensure representation for non-teaching personnel and implement the CNA in Local School Boards (LSB). “Since DepEd-NEU is the sole non-academic union of DepEd, we will remind our superintendents and regional officials to recommend their inclusion in the LSB,” emphasized Usec. Escobedo.
Furthermore, the DepEd-NEU proposed the formation of the DepEd Union Management Coordinating Council (UMCC) to strengthen the implementation of the welfare benefits as stated in the CNA.