THE Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) on Thursday demanded the payment of more than P700 million in unpaid allowances following Malacañang’s announcement of a P10,000 performance bonus each to government workers.

Melchor Cayabyab, TDC secretary-general, said some 1,000 teachers will troop today to the Department of Education (DepEd) head office at the Ultra Complex in Pasig City to seek a meeting with Education Secretary Jesli Lapus to press for such immediate payment of the unpaid allowances.

Cayabyab also said teachers from Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, Valenzuela, Pasig, San Juan, Taguig, Pateros and Mandaluyong will hold a protest rally in front of the DepEd building before attending the dialogue.

He said some 5,000 teachers in the National Capital Region (NCR) who are supposed to receive P80,000 to P200,000 each from the so-called Over-and-Above Allowance (OAA) program provided by local government units (LGUs) are still unpaid.

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) in January of 1999 allocated P490 million, he said, after declaring the teachers’ claim for the allowance as legal, valid and legitimate.

The DBM also directed DepEd division officials who questioned the payment of the allowance to immediately pay the teachers.

The unpaid allowance, he claimed, was the result of the implementation of Republic Act (RA) 6758, or the salary standardization law, in 1989.

Under RA 6758, allowances for teachers provided by the LGUs were discontinued since it was already included under the said law and the national government was mandated to pay the amount.

Cayabyab said it was unfortunate that the savings of the divisions are not enough to fully compensate all teacher-claimants, as in Caloocan City where there is only P2 million in savings and a budgetary requirement of more than P30 million.

Besides the issue of unpaid allowance, Cayabyab said the teachers’ problem with the Government Service Insurance System and loyalty pay are also expected to be discussed should they meet Lapus. 

City officials, Public Works executives in graft cases

THE Ombudsman for the Visayas on Wednesday filed graft charges against Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Arturo Radaza and other city officials for the alleged overpriced purchase of personal computer sets and 10 regional officials of the Public Works department for alleged irregularities in the acquisition of surveillance cameras used during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit in Cebu in January.

VEHICULAR traffic in Metro Manila remained normal but leaders of militant groups that declared the nationally coordinated protest actions on Thursday said the transport strike was “successful” even before they started.

WITH its 2007 collection at risk of not being attained due to reduced imports and exports attributed to the strong peso, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) can console itself this Christmas with its 2006 performance that got it a huge P539-million reward for exceeding its given target of P197 billion by P2.2 billion.

FOR uniting a politically fragmented nation during his fights, boxing sensation Manny Pacquiao was named Ambassador of Peace, along with nine others, Wednesday night at the Quirino Grandstand during the launching of the Global Peace Festival, an international initiative that seeks to forge world peace.

THE National Police is taking an active role in the case monitoring and tracking efforts of Task Force 211, or the Task Force Against Political Violence, created by President Arroyo through Administrative Order 211.

THE Senate moved to reprimand Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales, Armed Forces chief Hermogenes Esperon and National Police chief Avelino Razon for snubbing an invitation to testify at an inquiry into the “warrantless arrests” of journalists who covered the November 29 Peninsula Manila Hotel standoff.

THE Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) on Thursday demanded the payment of more than P700 million in unpaid allowances following Malacañang’s announcement of a P10,000 performance bonus each to government workers.