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MANILA (UPDATED) — The Department of Education on Friday said it formed a fact-finding committee to investigate an alleged "maternity leave" scam wherein some teachers allegedly filed maternity leaves up to "11 times in 3 years".

DepEd spokesman Atty. Michael Poa said the fact-finding committee would be composed of officers from DepEd regional offices, not schools division offices, to maintain the impartiality of the investigation.

First on the agenda, he said, is to check the records on the alleged filing of the maternity leaves and if the teachers involved were really pregnant and had given birth at the time.

He urged a whistleblower and other individuals who might know about the scam to come forward and give their statement.

"We want to know if this is an isolated case or if it is widespread," he said.

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DepEd-TAPAT Curriculum Implementation Division Chief Dr. Ellery Quintia on Thursday showed documents wherein one teacher allegedly received money ranging from P35,000 to P61,000 from 2016 to 2019 as she filed for maternity leaves during that time.

He explained these are the salaries of the said teacher, given in lump sums supposedly availed of through the said benefit.

Under the Expanded Maternity Leave Law signed in 2019, female workers in the public sector, including public school teachers, "shall be granted maternity leave of 105 days with full pay", and "shall be entitled to maternity leave of 60 days with full pay for miscarriage or emergency termination of pregnancy."

"Good as cash ito. Kung titingnan mo ito, cash na ito na ibababa sa account ni teacher... Hindi ko naman siya kinausap tungkol dito. Maaaring hindi nga siya aware kung ano iyong nangyari at nanganak siya ng 11 beses sa loob ng 3 taon... Maaaring si teacher, biktima rin. Ginamit din... Ito ay conspiracy ng mga nasa itaas," Quintia said.

(It's good as cash. If you look at it, it's cash that will be deposited into the teacher's account... I didn't talk to her about it. She might not be aware of what happened and she gave birth 11 times in 3 years... The teacher may also be a victim. This could be a conspiracy by higher-ups.)

In a text message to ABS-CBN News, Quintia confirmed he was in touch with his lawyer to work on his statement and affidavit for filing a formal complaint with the DepEd Central Office.

Quintia said in 2019, some personnel noticed the anomalous filing of maternity leaves, and the accounting and bookkeeper at that time filed a joint report on the matter.

In 2021, Quintia said he learned of the issue and decided to come out now.

Speaking to ABS-CBN News on Thursday, "Teacher Rose", the teacher identified in the documents, said she has not filed for leaves since she began teaching in a school in Taguig in 1999.

• DepEd's Taguig-Pateros office: Alleged teachers' maternity leave scam does not exist
• DepEd official: Some teachers file maternity leaves 'up to 11 times in 3 years'

Rose also said she does not have a child.

"Wala akong alam diyan. As in. Hindi ko alam na ganyan din, may scam na ganyan. As in wala akong alam. Ngayon lang, na ininterview niyo ako. Ngayon lang din ko nalaman na kasama ako dyan," she said.

(I don't know anything about that. As in. I didn't know that there is a scam like that. I only found out that I was tagged in that when you interviewed me.)

"Hindi pa ako nagli-leave from 1999 na nandito ako... hanggang ngayon. Hindi pa ako naglea-leave. As in malinis iyong record ko. At wala akong anak," she added.

(I haven't taken a leave since 1999. My record is clean. And I don't have children.)

Rose also denied that she received money during the said period.

"Sana mayaman na ako. Teacher 1 nga ako, 'di ba. Hindi na ako nagpapa-promote kasi okay na sa akin iyong pera ko, walang problema doon... As in hindi, kaya nga na-shock ako ngayon nung sinabi na may ganoong pera kasi wala talaga," she said.

(I wish I were rich. My rank is Teacher 1, right? I'm not seeking a promotion anymore because my money is fine with me, there's no problem with that... That's why I was shocked when I was told that there is such money because there really isn't any.)

A school personnel in charge confirmed Rose has not taken a leave of absence.

"Agree naman ako sa kanya. Based on records talaga, wala akong pina-process na nag-file siya ng maternity leave kahit isang beses kasi hindi naman siya nagbuntis. So hindi possible na mayroon siyang maternity leave," she said.

(I agree with her. Based on records, I didn't process any application that she filed for maternity leave even once because she didn't get pregnant. So it is not possible that she had maternity leave.)

Capistrano said personnel typically avail of maternity leaves once a year, except for extraordinary cases like miscarriages, which are also included in the said benefits.

— With a report from Arra Perez, ABS-CBN News