By Nash Maulana
Inquirer Mindanao
First Posted 15:47:00 07/23/2010
MARAWI CITY, Philippines – The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) owes its teachers millions of pesos in unpaid salaries and the amount continues to balloon, officials admitted Friday.
Bert Caudang, ARMM education secretary, said that to date, the regional government owed P124 million in back wages close to 26,000 teachers in Basilan, Sulu, Maguindanao, Tawi-tawi, Lanao de Sur and the cities of Marawi and Isabela.
The delay in the release of the salaries has forced many teachers to run to private money lenders, said Hadji Udtog Kawit, Maguindanao district schools supervisor.
But Kawit claimed that the delays – starting in 2006 – were inadvertent.
Caudang said one reason for the delays was the ARMM DepEd’s re-examination of its roster of teachers using the computerized individual data (CID) system amid reports of ghost teachers and non-existent schools.
In 2008, ARMM officials exposed a large number of “ghost employees” working in non-existent schools.
He said the installation of the CID system was still being completed and unless the figures were validated, the delays could continue.
Caudang said any payment would have to depend on electronic validation because pending completion of the CID system, the DepEd could not officially rid its list of probable ghost employees and schools.
He said that while ARMM officials expressed willingness to pay the mentors, there was not enough money to do so.
The unpaid salaries, Caudang said, would have to be charged to a supplementary budget “programmed for that specific purpose.”
Najib Sinarimbo, ARMM executive secretary, said there was a perennial problem of lack of funds in the region.
He said officials agreed that the only way to address the problem was for the ARMM to become self-sufficient by generating local revenues.
To become self-sufficient, Sinarimbo said “the ARMM has to assume collection of customs tariffs” as well as duties on exports done through its ports.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/regions/view/20100723-282708/ARMM-teachers-owed-P124-M-in-unpaid-salaries
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ARMM mentors get back pays
