GOVPH

DepEd Quezon eyes P1.2M savings from Project Devolves launch

 The Department of Education Division of Quezon (DepEd Quezon) reported that over P1.2 million savings per annum could be expected from its newly launched Project DeVOLVES (Deconcentration of Vital Operations for Leveraging Volumes of Education Services). During the formal inauguration of this project vis-à-vis its first sub-office in Gumaca in October 29 at Gumaca National High School, DepEd Quezon Officer-in-Charge Schools Division Superintendent (OIC-SDS) Elias A. Alicaya Jr. further revealed that if a transaction in the sub-office, instead of directly to the main office in Talipan, Pagbilao, could save P13,450, which equates to P645,600 a week, and P1,234,080 per year. “Gaano kalaki ang halagang ito upang ibili ng pangangailangan ng mga mag-aaral at guro? Sobra-sobra po ang perang ito para magamit natin sa mga makeshift rooms na kapos po sa mga learning resource,” SDS Alicaya remarked based on the findings of the Division-conducted feasibility study. DepEd Quezon, one of the country’s largest Schools Division Offices (SDO), launched Project DeVOLVES to decentralize its quality management services from its main office down to the sub-offices, established in three strategic locations in the province: the first in Gumaca National High School in the east, another in Real Central School (north), and the last one in Catanauan Central School (south), to be supervised by their respective Assistant Schools Division Superintendents (ASDS). DepEd Undersecretary for Curriculum Diosdado San Antionio, who graced the occasion, lauded this project of DepEd Quezon, saying, “Ito po ay sang-ayon din sa mga gustong mangyari ni Secretary ‘Liling’ [Briones] na ang ating pagbibigay, paglilingkod sa bayan ay talagang ilapit sa mga mas nangangailangan,” the Undersecretary mentioned. “Eli [Alicaya] is here to bring in the dreams that we’ve woven sometime in the past and to put that into reality,” said Assistant Regional Director Cherrylou Repia, who revealed that this project is among the shared dreams of DepEd Region IV-A CALABARZON for its divisions. Likewise, OIC-ASDS Gregorio T. Mueco said, “This initiative is actually a pioneering effort of our very brilliant Schools Division Superintendent Dr. Elias Alicaya Jr. in support of DepEd’s Last Mile Schools Program and to address the challenges faced by the schools located in geographically disadvantaged areas and isolated municipalities in Quezon by, of course, bringing the services of the different offices in the Division nearer to them.” Alicaya said that this initiative was conceptualized as the Division’s response to the struggle of reaching out and delivering quality basic education services to its 448,187 enrollees this year, under the tutelage of 16,723 teaching personnel from 960 schools situated in the mountain ranges, islands, or the farthest parts of Quezon, the eighth largest province in the Philippines. The Superintendent further declared that this project would address its personnel and clientele’s decade-long instructional and financial concerns, plus the health-related threats posed by the pandemic, in transactions, for instance, in submitting urgent reports and documents to the Division Office. Alicaya pointed out, “Kung ta-travel ka, tatlong araw ang uubusin mo. Kung tatlong araw, wala ang teacher, sino ang magtuturo sa bata? Kung tatlong araw on travel ang principal, sino ang nakatao sa ating mga paaralan?” With this, he encouraged the liaison officers, administrative assistants, and principals of various schools in the Division to transact with the accessible sub-offices operating from Mondays to Fridays, and maximize their services powered by an online Document Tracking System (DTS) linked to the main office in Pagbilao. “Ako po ay nagre-request po sa inyong lahat na huwag na nating pahirapan pa ang mga sarili natin sa mga ganitong uri ng transaksyon,” the Superintendent pleaded. During the ceremony, Civil Service Commission (CSC) Director Jacinto C. Mateo III awarded SDO-Quezon, the first DepEd recipient of the Program to Institutionalize Meritocracy and Excellence in Human Resource Management (PRIME-HRM) Bronze Award. Jeth Ysrael R. Manalo Teacher I | Gumaca National High School Contributor