Teachers to receive P500 each for medical exam

MANILA, Philippines — Public school teachers are set to receive P500 each to cover their annual medical examination as required by law.

Education Undersecretary Annalyn Sevilla said they plan to release the fund before the end of the school year next month, which is the deadline for teachers to submit the results of their medical examinations.

“Allotment for the purpose was just released by the Department of Budget and Management to the Department of Education (DepEd),” Sevilla told The STAR yesterday.

“We are coordinating with the Bureau of Human Resource and Organizational Development on the guidelines for release to teachers,” she added.

Also yesterday, the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) called on the government to provide free medical examination to teachers as mandated in the law.

“It is clear that medical examination for public school teachers should be done annually, it is compulsory. However, the same provision of the law also says that it should be free and, in fact, the law mandates that the government should pay for teachers’ hospitalization and treatment if found necessary,” TDC chairman Benjo Basas said.                  

Basas said some teachers have already paid for their medical examination due to the late release of the fund promised by DepEd, noting that the deadline is at the end of the school year. 

While they welcome the P500 medical examination fund, Basas noted the need for the government to institute free examination as the cost varies across the country, from P400 to P1,500.

No allocation for medical examination of over 822,000 teachers was included in the 2020 budget.