DepEd fails to remit P5.55 billion in taxes and insurance for teachers and other staff

The Department of Education (DepEd) in the Philippines has been found to have not remitted a total of P5.55 billion in taxes, insurance contributions, and loan payments that were deducted from teachers and non-teaching personnel as of the end of 2022. This situation involves several government agencies and corporations:

Government Service Insurance System (GSIS): A staggering P4.47 billion was not remitted to GSIS. The Commission on Audit (COA) report for 2022 highlighted the biggest unremitted amounts from various regional DepEd offices to the GSIS, along with their reasons for failure to remit. For example, DepEd Region 3 (Central Luzon) failed to remit P435.168 million due to issues like reconciliation of remittance records and system rejections.

Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth): There was a failure to remit P307.034 million to PhilHealth. Additionally, remittances from earlier years had not been reconciled with PhilHealth records.

Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG): A total of P193.768 million was not remitted to Pag-IBIG. Similarly, there were unresolved issues regarding reconciliation with Pag-IBIG records.

Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR): An amount of P572.6 million was not remitted to the BIR.

The COA stressed that this failure to remit the necessary contributions and payments has serious implications for the employees of the DepEd. It deprives them of the opportunity to avail themselves of loan privileges, earn yearly dividends, and other benefits, thereby causing them undue harm.

As of the end of 2022, the DepEd had a substantial workforce, comprising 879,793 teachers, 63,610 teaching-related workers, and 72,663 non-teaching personnel. The failure to properly manage and remit these deductions has significant consequences for a large number of individuals.