HK Has Most ‘Teacher-Returnees’
ALMOST 800 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have applied to go back to the Philippines to teach, and nearly half of them come from Hong Kong, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said.
Baldoz said that out of the 794 applicants for the ‘Sa ‘Pinas, Ikaw ang Ma’am/Sir’ convergence program (SPIMS) from around the world, 369 come from Hong Kong.
“This continuing upward trend of OFW applicants signifies the efficacy of the program to re-direct OFW-teachers and even those who are in non-teaching profession to resume and pursue a teaching career in the country,” Baldoz said.
Baldoz said 119 household service workers have already bagged Department of Education (DepEd) teaching positions in their respective hometowns through SPIMS.
“They are back for good, and they are definitely in better places right in their hometowns, and with their families and loved ones,” Baldoz said.
“DepEd has already issued assumption and assignment orders to these 119 former HSWs out of the 150 Teacher I positions created by DepEd for qualified OFW beneficiaries under the DOLE-DepEd,” she said.
“The remaining 31 qualified OFWs are just waiting for the Notice of Organization, Staffing and Classification Action (NOSCA) and appointment orders, and some are still processing their requirements,” she added.
Baldoz also said that as of February 2016, the 814 OFWs who have passed the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET) have been profiled and endorsed to the DepEd for final evaluation and appointment as Teacher I.
National Reintegration Center For OFWs (NCRO) Director Chona Mantilla said the SPIMS who were assigned to teach in their home regions included the following:
National Capital Region: Josefino Anayas, Ramil Hontiveros, Joan Kirit, Lilia Openiano, Ariel Salvador, Imelda Bantayan.
Region I: Gertrudes Baliclic, Alma Dela Cruz, Edith Delos Santos, Rosana Imasa, Annalyn Velle Macaraeg, Jackielou Mariano, Flory Niro, Divina Pagaduan, Mustapha Pama, Mary Ann Perez, Jocelyn Ramos-Limos, Lorna Tabernero.
Region II: Susana Balledo, Jay Ann Baracao, Reymyline Batag, Assen Shiera Biggayan, Rosemelinda Castillo, Veronica De Vera, Marilou Dela Cruz, Whelma Dela Cruz, Meliza Enriquez, Andrea Galamgam, Jolly Laconsay, Denia Lastimosa, Michel Omela, Olga Paler, Myrna Pataueg, Cristina Pimentel.
Margarita Redoble, Janette Respicio, Ivy Rubilla, Arlyn Saet, Delia Saflor, Jay Marie Tacipit, Marjurie Taguba, Lavinia Tejada, Gina Tomas.
Region III: Charrie Marie Buenaventura, Paul Eduard De Guzman, Ma. Gina Estrella, Mia Garcia, Arlene Gilledo, RubyRose Nieves, Crizalie Noche, Merlita Pabustan, Raquel Pacheco were also assigned to the Cagayan Valley.
Mantilla said 95, or 64 percent, of those who qualified worked as HSWs, followed by overseas teachers at 32, or 21 percent.
The rest worked in other services sector like auto mechanics, customer service representatives, and salon assistants.
Majority of them belong to the 30-34 age bracket, while the youngest is 21 years old, and the oldest is 58.
Hong Kong topped the list of SPIMS applicants at 369; followed by Thailand, with 119; United Arab Emirates, 64; Qatar and Saudi Arabia, 46 each; Taiwan, 33; Singapore, 22; Israel, 16; Indonesia and Kuwait, 3 each; Macau, 10; China, 8; Lebanon, 7; Bahrain and Japan, 5 each; Canada and Ethiopia, 4 each.
Kazakhstan, Malaysia, and United States of America had 3 each; Brunei, Mongolia, Spain, United Kingdom and Vietnam, 2 each; and Greece, Cambodia, Cyprus, Denmark, Germany, Jordan,
Laos, Libya, Myanmar, Netherlands, and Uganda, 1 each.
To facilitate a steady increase in the number of OFW applicants, the Department has instructed all the Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLOs) to continually promote the program.
Baldoz also said those who need to undergo refresher courses, particularly OFWs with no teaching experience, will be endorsed to Philippine Normal University (PNU) for refresher courses.
“So far, NRCO has endorsed a total of 367 applicants to the PNU for free Online Refresher Course. Based on PNU data, a total of 144 OFWs are active in their Learning Management System (LMS),” Baldoz said.
‘Sa ‘Pinas, Ikaw ang Ma’am/Sir is a component of the NRCO which aims to gain back the Filipino workers overseas, particularly the OFW LET Passers,” she said.
“The program aims to reverse out migration by enhancing their skills and providing them option to stay in the Philippines to work as teachers,” she added.
All program beneficiaries, including those who had undergone an online refresher course on teaching, are provided with teaching kits amounting to P10,000.
This is sourced from the NRCO livelihood funds.
The salary of a public school teacher under the 2016 Salary Standardization Law (Teacher 1, entry level, Salary Grade 11, Step 1) in the Philippines is P19,077 per month, including a personal emergency relief allowance of P2,000.
A teacher also receives a yearly benefit of clothing/uniform allowance of P5,000; a year-end bonus equivalent to one-month basic pay; a cash gift of P5,000’ performance bonus based on school performance; a productivity incentive of P5,000; proportional vacation pay up to 70 days; 14 days Christmas vacation with pay; and a chalk allowance of P1,000.
A public school teacher also receives other benefits and incentives, such as one-step increment pay for every three years of satisfactory performance; hardship allowance equivalent to 15 to 25 percent of basic pay if he/she is assigned in hardship posts and if he/she is a mobile teacher or multi-grade teacher.
He/she could also receive honoraria for teaching overload but is subject for fund availability.
“Overall, a teacher’s pay is comparable to a HSW’s pay of US$400 a month, but our campaign for OFW teachers to return home is not anchored on pay alone,” Baldoz said.
“We would like them to consider seriously the high social cost of migration,” she added.
A teaching kit, which will aid the beneficiaries in their areas of assignment, include a computer tablet, voice-aide lapel and head-worn microphone, 32 gigabyte SD card, sets of flash cards reference materials, and writing tools.
Sa ‘Pinas Ikaw ang Ma’am/Sir program is open to all OFW LET passers with teaching experience within the last five years.
Those who have teaching experience beyond five years, or have no teaching experience at all will need to undergo an online refresher course.
An applicant must be an OFW who had gone home to the Philippines for not more than three years based on the current year.
(Source: HongKongNews.com.hk)