The Department of Education has laid off all its casual and contractual employees, while thousands of regular nonteaching personnel will be reassigned if they do not opt to go into early retirement, under the department’s ongoing nationwide reorganization.
The casual and contractual employees were terminated effective Dec. 15, a month after the DepEd’s so-called Rationalization Plan (RatPlan) was approved by the Department of Budget and Management.
The reorganization, which will take place until March next year, will affect employees in the DepEd central office, the 16 regional offices (excluding the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao) and the 206 division offices in cities and provinces.
In a news conference Thursday, Undersecretary for Operations Rizalino Rivera said 9,700 regular items will be affected in the reorganization.
But on Friday, he gave a lower count and said 7,793 regular items are affected. He said 5,213 items are vacant “thus the net affected are 2,580 items and these staff (members) have the option to be (converted to) coterminous with the incumbent (status) or retire.”
“From the last count, DepED has 225 casual and contractual employees nationwide,” he also claimed.
DepEd laid off all its casual and contractual employees effective last Dec. 15, with the promise that those who qualify may be entitled to a retirement pay depending on the age and years of service.
After DBM approved its Rat-Plan last Nov. 15, DepEd has four months or until March 15 to lace affected employees in the new "rationalized staffing pattern"
Their position will be abolished once they leave DepEd.
"If they are 'coterminous with the incumbent,' they will occupy the same item. They will not lose their job, they will have the same salary, they will still get benefits until they themselves decide to leave DepEd or retire," Rivera said.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer - December 21, 2013