DepEd still tracks whereabouts of 140 Marawi City teachers
BANGSAMORO NEWS UPDATES • 21:45 PM Mon Jun 26, 2017
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By:
Malu C. Manar
Marawi City schools division staff help disbtribute aid to evacuees. (John Unson)
KIDAPAWAN CITY
- Five weeks after the fighting erupted in Marawi, the Department of Education
(DepEd) is still tracking the whereabouts of at least 140 of their teachers
that fled the city, a school official said.
The Marawi
City schools division has 1,413 teachers, data showed. At least 90 percent of them have already been
accounted for, according to Ana Zenaida Unte, assistant schools division
superintendent of Marawi City.
She hinted the
remaining 10 percent of their teachers might have gone to far-flung
municipalities outside Lanao provinces to flee from the fighting.
Since May 23,
these teachers have not reported to them, Unte said in a radio interview on
Monday.
She, however,
clarified none among their teachers were trapped in Marawi City,.
No teacher is
missing, none, so far, based on the reports.
But we continue to track them, said Unte.
Unte said she
has yet to confirm reports that at least 145 of their teachers are in Davao del
Sur and in Davao City.
As far as she
knew, they only have one teacher who sought shelter in Davao City. She identified her as Rosmia Pandapatan who
now teaches in one of the public schools in Davao City.
Aside from Ms
Pandapatan, wala na akong alam. That is
why we have to verify the reports that some of our teachers have gone to Davao
del Sur, she said.
Even if these
teachers have not yet been found, they still receive their regular pay through
their automated teller machine (ATM) cards, according to Unte.
She, however,
suggested to DepEd at the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) that the
teachers’ salaries should be paid in checks.
Mayroon
kaming suggestion, sa mga school level, sa mga school division offices, na ang
mga sahod ay gawing tseke so that we can confirm warm bodies, she said.
Should DepEd
agree to this, Unte said the teachers get their checks at their temporary
coordinating spaces in Iligan City, which is located inside the Iligan City
Central Elementary School, and in Saguiaran, Lanao del Sur.