Angara urges loan payments moratorium for typhoon-affected DepEd employees

MANILA, Philippines – Education Secretary Sonny Angara is calling for a temporary halting of the collection of loan payments for teaching and non-teaching personnel as they recover from the recent typhoons which hit the Philippines.

Angara wrote a letter to the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) to formalize his request on November 26, with a copy provided to the media on Friday, November 29.

He requested for the temporary suspension of the collection of Department of Education (DepEd) employees’ loan payments for those directly affected by the typhoon for three months, beginning January 2025, and with payments to resume in April 2025.

Who qualifies for the temporary relief?

The DepEd said the request was intended for DepEd personnel or residents within the areas that declared state of calamity by the government since September 2024.

Meanwhile, Angara also requested temporary relief for all DepEd employees regarding their loans.

“To assist all DepEd employees during these financially difficult times, may we respectfully request a moratorium on their loan payments for December 2024, with payments to resume in January 25,” the letter read.

The DepEd coordinated with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to request that the moratorium be exempted from being classified as non-performing loans during the period from December 2024 to March 2025.

Angara’s request was prompted by several typhoons that hit the Philippines in the past months. – Rappler.com