Latest DepEd Order: Creation of the Program Management Office (PMO) for Finance Processes Relative to Government Assistance and Subsidies Programs

In today's post we are sharing the latest DepEd Order No. 016 series of 2021, released on May 3, 2021. 

DepEd Order No. 016, s. 2021

CREATION OF THE PROGRAM MANAGEMENT OFFICE (PMO) IN THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION CENTRAL OFFICE FOR FINANCE PROCESSES RELATIVE TO GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE AND SUBSIDIES PROGRAMS 

 

To: Undersecretaries
Assistant Secretaries
Bureau and Service Directors
Regional Directors
Schools Division Superintendents
Public and Private Elementary and Secondary School Heads All Others Concerned

1. The Department of Education (DepEd) issues the enclosed policy titled Creation of the Program Management Office (PMO) in the Department of Education — Central Office for Finance Processes Relative to Government Assistance and Subsidies (GAS) Programs, which shall handle all financial transactions of all GAS-related programs, activities and projects.

2. All provisions of existing DepEd Orders and other issuances inconsistent with this Order are rescinded, repealed, revised and/or modified accordingly.

3. This Order shall take effect immediately upon its approval, issuance, and publication online at www.deped.gov.ph and its filing with the University of the Philippines-Office of the National Administrative Register (UP-ONAR).

4. For inquiries, please contact the Office of the Undersecretary for Finance through email at usec.financebpm@deped.gov.ph or at telephone number (02) 86339432.

5. Immediate dissemination of and strict compliance with this Order is directed.

 
RATIONALE  

The Government Assitance and Subsidies-Program Management Office (GASPMO) will assist the GASTPE Program Team and the GASTPE Composite Team in implementing the Government Assistance and Subsidies programs of the Department through timely processing of any financial-related transactions. Initially, this Office aims to ensure the timely implementation of the Bayanihan 2 for Basic Education (BBE) Program. After this, the GAS-PMO will provide assistance to the GASTPE Program Team in efficiently processing all financialrelated transactions for the regular GASTPE programs.  

This Office is also created based on the following legal bases:  

A. Republic Act (RA) No. 11494, otherwise known as the "Bayanihan to Recover as One Act" or Bayanihan Act 2, was promulgated on September 11, 2020, in cognizance of the adverse impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Philippine economy and society. The Bayanihan Act 2 provides for COVID-19 response and recovery interventions such as mechanisms to further reduce the impact of COVID-19 on the socio-economic well-being of Filipinos through the provision of assistance, subsidies, allowances, and other forms of socioeconomic relief.  

B. Section 4(n) of the Bayanihan Act 2 mandates the provision of subsidies and allowances to qualified students in private and public elementary and secondary education whose families are now facing financial difficulties brought about by work stoppage and closure of establishments due to the Community Quarantine (CQ) , and who are also not part of the Listahanan of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) nor covered under the Education Service Contracting (ESC) Program or the Senior High School Voucher Program (SHS VP) as provided in RA Nos. 8545 and 10533, respectively.  

This subsection of RA 11494 also provides that education subsidies and allowances granted shall be released directly to the private basic education schools for the purpose of applying the subsidy for unpaid tuition in School Year (SY) 2019-2020 or for payment of tuition fee for SY 2020-2021.  

To implement RA No. 11494, the Office of the Executive Secretary issued a memorandum dated October 23, 2020, containing the Implementing Guidelines of RA No. 11494. This RA with the Implementing Guidelines was uploaded in the Official Gazette on November 03, 2020. Under Item M of said Memo of the Office of the Executive Secretary, the Secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd), within their mandate, shall formulate guidelines and implement the relevant sections of RA No. 11494. By the same token, Section 8.4.3 of theGuidelines provides that DepEd shall issue separate eligibility rules consistent with Section 7 of the same.

 C. Lastly, DepEd Order No. 16, s. 2016 on March 21, 2016 entitled "Creation of the Interim Project Management Office (PMO) for the Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education (GASTPE) Effective School Year 2015 - 2016" which ensured the smooth and streamlined implementation of the Program, particularly on the correspondences and pending disbursements for GASTPE, payrolls, and requests for payments, amongst other functions.

Thus, DepEd issues this Order in recognition of the need to strengthen consistency and continuous improvement thereof.

 

Download and Read full DepEd Order No.016, s 2021