(Eagle News)–Physical reporting of Department of Education personnel, including public school teachers, to the workplace or on-site is “not mandatory.”
The DepEd reiterated the statement following reports some personnel were being made to sign a waiver in connection with the possible risk of exposure to COVID-19 upon return to the workplace.
According to a June 24 memorandum signed by Education Undersecretary Jesus Mateo, the waivers authorizing the personnel to report for work voluntarily and physically in their respective schools or offices “produce no legal effect” in the first place.
He said a waiver is the “voluntary relinquishment or surrender of some known right or privilege,” and pursuant to Article 6 of the Civil Code of the Philippines, “rights may be waived, unless the waiver is contrary to law, public order, public policy, morals, or good customs,.or prejudicial to a third person with a right recognized by law.”
According to the memo, the determination of the work arrangements in offices, schools and child learning centers “shall be based on the nature of work with due consideration to the health and safety conditions, travel, and inter-border limitations, and the form of community quarantine imposed” in the area where the workplace is located, “anchored on the minimum public health and safety measures of the Department of Health and the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.”
“Physical reporting to the workplace/onsite shall be kept at a minimum and shall be considered ONLY when the tasks and functions cannot be rendered through alternative strategies and remote modalities,” the memo said.
The memo added based on Department Order 11 s. 2020, heads of offices requiring the physical reporting of certain personnel should ensure the following: travel/office order in addition to the DepEd ID for identification purposes during travel from residence to workplace and vice versa, transportation services based on the available resources of the offices, and workplace compliance to Safe To Return To Work protocols.
“For immediate dissemination and appropriate action,” the memo said.
