After a two-year delay in releasing the 2021 Performance-Based Bonus (PBB), the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has finally disbursed P11.6 billion in bonuses to 920,073 public school teachers across the nation.
As of September 1, 2023, records from the DBM indicate that all 16 Regional Offices of the Department have issued the necessary Special Allotment Release Orders (SAROs) and Notices of Cash Allocations (NCAs) to the Department of Education (DepEd) for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 PBB for school-based personnel.
These SAROs/NCAs were issued following a comprehensive evaluation and validation process of updated documents submitted by DepEd from April to August 2023.
The DBM clarified that the basis for awarding the FY 2021 PBB is DepEd’s achievements during FY 2021. The Final Evaluation Assessment for DepEd was released by Administrative Order No. 25 Inter-Agency Task Force in January 2023, and DepEd submitted the necessary documents to DBM between April and August 2023.
The substantial number of eligible personnel, approximately 900,000 employees within DepEd, and the extensive documentation contributed to the process’s complexity. However, DBM promptly facilitated and processed the evaluation of documents for the FY 2021 PBB for school-based DepEd personnel.
Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman reaffirmed DBM’s commitment to releasing the PBB to DepEd’s teaching staff, acknowledging the exceptional work of the country’s educators. She emphasized that DBM stands in solidarity with teachers and recognizes their outstanding contributions.
Meanwhile, for non-teaching personnel under the Schools Division Offices in eight Regional Offices (NCR, CAR, RO Nos. III, IV-A, VIII, XI, XII, and XIII), the documentary requirements for FY 2021 PBB have been returned by DBM to DepEd for revalidation/revision. These documents were sent back due to various concerns, including duplicate entries, inaccurate information regarding months of service, and personnel discrepancies in DepEd’s Personnel Services Itemization and Plantilla of Personnel, among other issues.
Once these documents are received, revalidated, and approved by DBM, they will be forwarded to DBM Regional Offices for SARO and NCA processing. Additionally, DBM Central Office is currently reviewing the submitted documents for the FY 2021 PBB of non-teaching personnel in eight other DepEd Regional Offices.
