PGMA order release
of additional P1,000 election honorarium for teachers
By Philippine Information Agency (PIA 8)
November
14, 2007
TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte
– Greek philosopher Aristotle once said that in the arena of human
life, the honors and rewards fall to those who show their good
qualities in action.
Another favorite
quotation goes, "we will receive not what we idly wish for but what we
justly earn. Our rewards will always be in exact proportion to our
service."
Thus, for ensuring
free, fair and fast selection of the grassroots leaders through their
vigor and vigilance, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered the
Budget Secretary to release an additional one thousand pesos (P1,000)
to all teacher who served in the recently concluded synchronized
barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections.
The augmentation the
President has just ordered, will bring to a total of two thousand five
hundred the total remuneration the teachers will receive for the last
elections.
The President said
that the teachers selflessly displayed vigor and vigilance so that all
Filipinos can exercise their rights of suffrage. The President
believed that the industry and commitment of the teachers who served
during the last elections must not go unappreciated.
The President said
that this financial initiative to the teachers is extended to them by
a grateful government not just for the services beyond the call of
duty in the last elections but also for the sacrifices they continue
to endure in molding the minds of the Filipino youth.
Although the 2007
budget only authorized P1,500 maximum honorarium for the teachers who
will serve in the barangay elections, the President, however, pursuant
to powers vested on her have ordered the corresponding adjustments to
be sourced from savings made possible by the prudent utilization of
the country’s fiscal surplus.
So that delays and
miscommunications will be avoided, the President has also instructed
the Department of Budget and Management and the Department of
Education to coordinate with COMELEC to review policies pertaining to
the release of pay for teachers performing election duties.
The Presidents move is
but a manifestation that she realizes exemplary work and commitment of
the government workers who are partners in the ordering of society and
in the attainment of good governance, and who more often than not
serve more than what they are paid for.
