The Secretary of Education, Roger Mandujano Ayala, confirmed that the department has a debt of 500 million pesos owed to education sector workers. Many of these debts have been outstanding for more than six years, and although there are no documents formally supporting the liabilities, the institution decided to initiate a regularization process “in good faith” to begin settling the payments as soon as possible.
Mandujano Ayala explained that some payments have not been made under various programs, one of the most critical being the Detailed Programming (Prodet) program, whose documentation is still under review. However, he noted that there is also a segment of debt that cannot be regularized, since “there is no paperwork to prove that the person provided a service.” Even so, he assured that he is personally addressing these cases to find a solution.
The official affirmed that the department’s moral commitment is to resolve the debts owed to teachers and that they expect to begin payments at the beginning of next year.
He also reported that another affected group is that of substitute teachers, who also have outstanding payments. He added that upon assuming the administration, they found a “bureaucratic reality” where substitute positions were being granted “indiscriminately,” leading to malpractice that must be corrected in 2025 through new internal controls.
Mandujano Ayala revealed that the presence of “ghost employees”—people who are paid without working—was detected at the Ministry of Education. Although he did not specify how many, he indicated that “there are many,” and that they have already been notified of their situation and will be removed from the payroll.
The secretary acknowledged that the state government must fulfill its payment obligations and that they have already begun drafting contracts. They estimate completing the documentation in December to settle the debts between January and February of next year.
Source: oem
