A New School Head's First 90 Days in DepEd

As of November 6, 2026, no DepEd order or memorandum sets a 90-day plan for a new school head. What the rules fix is the handover and the duties that start on day one. In a school that draws its Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) as a cash advance, the outgoing head liquidates the advance, and the remaining funds, the unliquidated balance and the unused checks pass to the incoming head through an Authority to Transfer Accountability for School Funds that the Schools Division Superintendent (SDS) approves. The policy is “No Liquidation, No Clearance” (DepEd Order No. 029, s. 2019, items 20 and 32.4). From the same day, Republic Act No. 9155 makes the school head accountable for “Administering and managing all personnel, physical and fiscal resources of the school” (Sec. 7(E)); the RA 9155 guide explains all twelve duties.

The 90 days below are a working frame built on those rules. Its one improvement step uses the school’s own plan: the head picks one priority already in the School Improvement Plan (SIP) and tests it on a small group, as the SIP Guidebook directs for any solution before rollout (Step 9). Count from the date you assumed duty; for an appointee, the Certification of Assumption to Duty records it (2025 Omnibus Rules on Appointments and Other Human Resource Actions, or ORAOHRA, Sec. 23). It fits a new or reassigned principal and a teacher designated as teacher-in-charge (TIC) or officer-in-charge (OIC), under the rules in force on November 6, 2026.

Key findings

• The fund turnover has a fixed procedure. The outgoing head liquidates, the SDS signs the transfer, both heads sign, the account number stays, and the outgoing head is cleared only after the bank undertakes to change the signatory (DO 029, s. 2019, items 32.4 and 33.2).
• The bond does not pass to you. A fidelity bond is “non-transferable and personal”; when a bonded officer retires, resigns, is separated, is relieved of accountability or dies, the successor applies to cancel it, and the head of agency notifies the Bureau of the Treasury within five days (Treasury Circular No. 1-2026, Secs. 7.5.1, 8.2 and 9.1).
• A designee’s authority is in the order. A TIC’s order, signed by the SDS, specifies “duties and functions, authority, accountability, and responsibility” (DepEd Order No. 005, s. 2024, Sec. V.A.1, item 5). An OIC “may not be deemed to possess the power to appoint employees” unless the order “expressly includes the power to issue appointment” (2025 ORAOHRA, Sec. 13(c)).
• The review tools exist. Schools may run the School-Based Management (SBM) self-assessment “as many times as deemed necessary” (DepEd Order No. 007, s. 2024, Sec. V.D.1), and the SIP Guidebook tests a solution “on a small population” first (DepEd Order No. 44, s. 2015, Step 9).
• Progress reports must not expose learners. What may identify a learner in a child protection case “shall be withheld from the public” (DepEd Order No. 40, s. 2012, Sec. 18), and learners’ photos go on a school’s social media only with consent “evidenced by written, electronic, or recorded means” (DepEd Order No. 007, s. 2026, Encl., Sec. V.B.5.b, item xiv).
• A November arrival meets year-end deadlines at once, from the Authority to Debit/Credit Account due at the bank on or before December 20 to early registration in the Learner Information System (LIS) from January 30, 2027 (DepEd Order No. 009, s. 2026, Annex B; DO 029, s. 2019, item 32.3).

The 90 days at a glance

The periods overlap, and a child protection report, an unsafe building or a funds deadline is handled when it arises.

Appointment, reassignment or designation: what your papers decide

Clearance runs both ways. A reassigned head clears accountabilities at the old school while taking them over at the new one; the memorandum that moved the principal in Yangson v. Department of Education, G.R. No. 200170, June 3, 2019 (Third Division), said: “Please submit your clearance as to money and property accountability before reporting to your new station.” For a promotion and the other movements it names, the 2025 ORAOHRA requires a “clearance from money, property, and work-related accountabilities from the appointee’s former office” (CS Form No. 7) (Sec. 6(d)). The reassignment guide covers when a principal may be moved.

Designation and signing. The 2025 ORAOHRA, issued as CSC Memorandum Circular No. 08, s. 2025, says an OIC “may not be deemed to possess the power to appoint employees” unless “the designation order issued by the proper appointing officer or authority expressly includes the power to issue appointment” (Sec. 13(c)). For financial documents, DepEd’s signing table names the “SH or the School’s Officer-in-Charge (OIC) designated by the SDS” (DepEd Order No. 017, s. 2024, Annex A); a TIC whose order is silent should ask the SDS in writing before signing a voucher, as the principal, head teacher and teacher-in-charge guide explains.

Week 1: what to take over and check

The cash advance, the bank account and the checks

In DepEd’s FY 2026 school MOOE allocation list, 43,122 of 45,801 schools are non-implementing units, which keep no complete set of books and receive MOOE as a cash advance in a school bank account (DO 029, s. 2019, items 2 and 5.11). DO 029 sets their turnover:

1. The outgoing head liquidates. On reassignment, retirement, separation or suspension, “the cash advance released to him/her must be liquidated and accounted for” before clearance (item 20). The liquidation, the bank statement and “the booklet containing the unused checks” go to the division’s accounting unit “for audit and approval” (item 32.4.a).
2. The Schools Division Office (SDO) prepares two documents for the SDS, the Authority to Transfer Accountability for School Funds (Annex C) and the Indorsement Letter for the Incoming School Head (Annex I), then obtains both heads’ signatures (item 33.2). Annex C lists “The remaining MOOE funds for Cash Advance of the incoming School Head”, the “Unliquidated Cash Advance”, and the unused checks by serial number; the Schools Division Accountant certifies it, the SDS approves it, and both heads sign as conforme.
3. The bank changes the signatory, not the account. “The existing account number of the school with the GSB/non-GSB shall be maintained”, and the outgoing head “may only be cleared upon the SDO’s receipt of the bank’s undertaking to change the authorized signatory” (item 32.4.c).

Before you sign the conforme, match each amount with the bank statement, count the unused checks, and ask the bank which checks are outstanding; charges from falling below the maintaining balance “shall be paid by the School Head from his/her personal account” (item 16).

A cash advance is granted “only to duly designated disbursing officers” (item 5.2). School heads without financial staff are designated special disbursing officers “through the authority of Schools Division Superintendent”; the first duty listed is to “Apply for bonding”, and they liquidate monthly, submitting the Cash Disbursements Register (CDR), paid vouchers and supporting documents “on or before the 5th day of the following month” (DepEd Order No. 008, s. 2019, Sec. V.C, items 3.1 and 3.3). Implementing units, which keep their own books, follow their own procedure; see the school MOOE guide.

The fidelity bond

Treasury Circular No. 1-2026 of the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr), dated January 22, 2026, sets the rules.

Bond before signing a check; see the Financial Management Operations Manual guide.

Other money in the school

• Program funds. The school keeps “one CDR for School MOOE and one for each Program Fund (e.g. School-Based Feeding Program, Gulayan sa Paaralan, etc.), per month” (DO 029, s. 2019, item 19.1). Late liquidation costs the school: an SDO may download feeding funds only to schools with “no unliquidated fund balances for the past six (6) months” and no adverse findings from the Commission on Audit (COA) (DepEd Order No. 013, s. 2026, Sec. VIII.A.3).
• Canteen funds. Teachers and canteen personnel “shall be required to secure clearance from money and property accountabilities” for their canteen work before they retire, resign or move (DepEd Order No. 8, s. 2007, item 6.9). See the canteen guide.

Property

Ask the custodian for the property cards, the latest physical count, and the items issued on a Property Acknowledgment Receipt (PAR) or Inventory Custodian Slip (ICS), then walk the rooms with the outgoing head. The PAR “shall be renewed every three years or every time there is a change in custodianship/user of the property” (Government Accounting Manual, Vol. II, Appendix 71, instruction A), and a Property Transfer Report is “used whenever there is a Transfer of Property from one (1) Accountable Officer to Another” (DepEd Order No. 053, s. 2021, Sec. III.f). Equipment the outgoing head signed for therefore needs new papers.

Presidential Decree No. 1445, the Government Auditing Code, makes an officer with “the possession or custody of government funds or property” accountable for them (Sec. 101), including for losses “occasioned by negligence in the keeping or use of the property whether or not it be at the time in his actual custody” (Sec. 105). Send a list of missing items and mismatched serial numbers to the division’s supply office.

Custody itself is an administrative task: “School Heads and non-teaching personnel shall have the sole responsibility to perform” property custodianship, records management, financial management and school DRRM, among others (DepEd Order No. 002, s. 2024, Sec. V.A.1). If a teacher is still the custodian, the DO 002 guide explains the options.

Records and system accounts

The school’s Records Management Improvement Committee, chaired by the school head, is to “Conduct Records Inventory and proper turn-over of records in their custody”, and “no teaching personnel shall be designated as members and secretariat” (DepEd Memorandum No. 003, s. 2025, items 2 and 3). Ask for the records inventory, liquidation copies and confidential case files, and for the current electronic School Form 7 (eSF7), the personnel assignment list whose accomplishment is “the primary responsibility and accountability of the School Head” (DepEd Memorandum No. 052, s. 2023, item 6) and which the school head uses to distribute workload (DO 005, s. 2024, Sec. V.D.4). The school records guide covers each record.

Two DepEd systems run on the school head’s access: schools encode early registration in the LIS “using the school head or school administrator’s account daily” (DepEd Order No. 017, s. 2025, Sec. IX.A.a), and school heads report the learning continuity level through the dashboard’s mobile application (DepEd Order No. 014, s. 2026, item 44). Have the division move both accounts to you, and change the passwords: the Data Privacy Act requires “reasonable and appropriate organizational, physical and technical measures” to protect personal information (Republic Act No. 10173, Sec. 20(a)), and enrollment data is open only “on a need-to-know basis” (DO 017, s. 2025, Sec. X.B).

People and designations

Start with the designations already made. Teaching-related assignments are made by “a designation order from the school head duly concurred by the teacher concerned”, approved as a list by the SDS, copied to the School Governance and Operations Division (SGOD), and “must be reflected in the electronic School Form 7 (eSF7)” (DO 005, s. 2024, Sec. V.A.4, item 3). Compare the eSF7 with what teachers actually do before changing anything, then confirm the roles the rules require:

The child protection guide covers the committee, the officer and the time limits once a report comes in; the human resource management guide covers teaching-related assignments.

Days 8 to 30: what to review, and with whom

Every area below is a duty the school head already holds.

Whom to hear. RA 9155 charges the school head with “Establishing school and community networks” (Sec. 7(E)). The School Governance Council is “a structure for shared governance and a feedback mechanism”, though it “shall not manage the school” (DepEd Order No. 026, s. 2022, Sec. V), and the district supervisor’s job includes “Providing professional and instructional advice and support to the school heads” (RA 9155, Sec. 7(D)). Ask each group what works and should stay, where time or money is lost, and what to fix first. Hear learners in safe, age-appropriate ways, never by asking a child to describe a sensitive experience in a group. Complaints about a named person go to their own process.

Keep class visits developmental. Walkthroughs give feedback “without the pressure associated with formal performance evaluation” (DO 016, s. 2026, item 33); see the instructional supervision guide.

A one-page summary by day 30. List strengths to keep, risks already acted on, needs that more than one source supports, and open questions, and test it with the planning team and your district supervisor; the organizational diagnosis and stakeholder analysis guides give tools.

Days 31 to 60: choosing and testing one priority

The turnover and reviews above rest on duties the rules impose; the improvement priority comes after them, not instead of them, and which priority, which test group and what counts as success are the school head’s choices.

Choose from what the school has already agreed: MOOE funds “activities as identified in the approved School Improvement Plan (SIP) for implementation in the current year and as specifically determined in the Annual Implementation Plan (AIP)”, among other uses (DO 008, s. 2019, Sec. V.D.1). A good first priority, by tests no DepEd rule sets, has more than one source showing the need, needs no new money or approval, adds no form for teachers, and would show a change in practice within six weeks.

Then test before you spread. The SIP Guidebook tells the project team to “test it first on a small population”, such as “a section out of an entire grade level”, and to “Compare your data before and after testing the solution” (DO 44, s. 2015, Step 9). Rollout is then done “not by the Project Team, but by the concerned stakeholders (process owners)” (Step 10). The school improvement plan guide walks through the steps, and the root cause analysis guide shows how to find the cause first.

Worked example: getting ARAL learners to their sessions

The school and the figures in this example are fictional. A principal assumes duty on Monday, November 9, 2026, at a 410-learner elementary school; day 30 is December 8, day 60 is January 7, 2027, and day 90 is February 6, 2027.

What the first month shows. Reading is a priority improvement area in the SIP. After the October middle-of-year assessments, advisers referred 38 learners in Grades 1 to 3 to ARAL-Reading tutorial sessions held after classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, as DO 009, s. 2026 provides: “after classes, for a duration of 30-60 minutes on designated days, two (2) to four (4) times per week” (item 13). The tutors record attendance in the Report on Remedial and Intervention Program, one of the standard forms DO 006, s. 2025 lists for all teachers. From October 27 to November 26, only 17 of the 38 attended at least three of every four sessions. The reason, from advisers and parents: sessions start at 4:00 p.m., half an hour after dismissal, when many learners go home with older siblings.

Days 31 to 60 in this school. December is mostly examinations and breaks (see the mid-year table), so the principal agrees on the test with the Grade 2 advisers and tutors, explains it at the December 15 Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) meeting, and starts it when Term 3 opens.

Supervision during the test. The principal observes two sessions for 15 minutes each and gives feedback on how they start, and one Learning Action Cell (LAC) session takes up small-group reading; DO 44, s. 2015 asks that LAC activities be “aligned to the SIP or AIP” (item 7). See the LAC guide.

Days 61 to 90: review and set the next cycle

Ask separately whether the school did what it agreed, whether practice changed, and what happened for learners. The SIP Guidebook supplies the record: the planning team monitors each project “at the middle and end of the implementation period”, the Project Monitoring Report goes to the division, and “Based on the recommendations/action points, the Project Team and SPT can now adjust, modify, and write the AIP for the following year” (DO 44, s. 2015, Step 11).

Four weeks and 14 learners are a small base: the results justify rolling the schedule out to Grades 1 and 3 from February 9; they do not show that the new head’s first 90 days raised reading levels, and the update to parents should not say so. For the three learners who did not improve, teachers “shall submit the names to their school heads” (DO 018, s. 2025, item 44.3), and learners in Grades 2 to 10 with “manifestations of learning difficulties” are referred to the multidisciplinary team of an Inclusive Learning Resource Center or to other professionals (item 46).

Set the next cycle

Put the work back into the school’s regular cycle rather than into a separate plan of your own:

• AIP and procurement. The AIP follows “the calendar year format” (DO 008, s. 2019, Sec. V.D.1), and purchases for a rollout must be in the procuring entity’s final Annual Procurement Plan (see the mid-year table).
• SBM. DO 007, s. 2024 places the self-assessment near the end of the school year and planning during the learners’ vacation (Sec. V.D.2); see the SBM guide.
• LSCP. Update it for Term 3 (DO 014, s. 2026, item 25).
• Your own development. Indicator 4.1.2 of the Philippine Professional Standards for School Heads (PPSSH), adopted through DepEd Order No. 024, s. 2020, asks a Career Stage 2 school head to “Set personal and professional development goals based on self-assessment aligned with the Philippine Professional Standards for School Heads.” DepEd Order No. 24, s. 2005 lists, among the roles an SDS may give a district supervisor, to “assist newly-appointed principals or head teachers as their mentor for a maximum period of one year during the induction phase of their tenure” (item 2.c.4); ask whether your division uses it. The mentoring guide has tools for that work.

Reporting progress without exposing private information

The SRC is presented “At the minimum … twice: during the mid-year (October) and year-end (March) general assemblies” (DO 44, s. 2015, Sec. V.B.3); those months were set for the old four-quarter calendar, so follow your division’s schedule. The transparency board shows the sources and uses of school funds and “must be updated every three (3) months” (DO 008, s. 2019, Sec. VI.A.4). The limits:

Report counts at grade or school level, not names; in a small class a count of one can point to a child, so combine such figures or leave them out. For example:

“From January 5 to 28, Grade 2 learners attended the after-class reading sessions more often after the sessions moved to dismissal time. From February 9, the same schedule applies to Grades 1 and 3. Results of the end-of-year reading assessment will be shared at the April 8 meeting.”

When the situation is different

A very small school

When the new head of a small school is a TIC, they may teach only after every teacher carries the maximum teaching overload of two hours (DO 005, s. 2024, Sec. V.A.1, item 5). Administrative work still may not go to teachers (DO 002, s. 2024, Sec. V.A.1); DO 002 had divisions cluster schools without enough non-teaching personnel, up to three per cluster, and deploy administrative support staff to them (Sec. IX). DO 033, s. 2021 lets the school head name “one (1) teaching or non-teaching staff” as DRRM coordinator, “Whenever feasible” a non-teaching one (para. 13), but DO 002 lists school DRRM among the tasks removed from teachers. In a school with no non-teaching staff, no issuance settles which gives way: put the interim arrangement in writing and raise it with the division. The small and multigrade school guide sets out a small-school head’s week.

Arriving mid-year

A head who assumes duty in November 2026 meets these dates before the school year ends:

The school’s OPCRF targets were set before you arrived; ask your rater early how that period will be handled, and see the OPCRF guide.

A disaster interrupts

Safety and continuity come first; the test waits. Report the learning continuity level through the dashboard “within the first 12 hours of any disruption” (DO 014, s. 2026, item 44), and use the emergency call tree that “shall be included in the LSCP” every school year (item 33). The DRRM and class suspension guide covers who suspends classes. If funds or property are lost to fire, theft or other casualty, the accountable officer “shall immediately notify the Commission or the auditor concerned” and apply for relief within thirty days unless COA allows longer; an officer who does not “shall not be relieved of liability” (PD 1445, Sec. 73; Treasury Circular No. 1-2026, Sec. 11.1).

The handover is incomplete or disputed

The outgoing head cannot be cleared without liquidating: “The policy of ‘No Liquidation, No Clearance’ shall be strictly implemented” (DO 029, s. 2019, item 20). The division’s accounting unit, not the incoming head, signs that clearance, and only “Upon receipt of the undertaking from the bank” (item 33.2.d). When something does not match:

1. Keep a handover list. For every item, record what you received, what you checked, and what remains open with the office that must act.
2. Put the gaps in writing to the SDS through the division’s accounting or supply office, keep a copy, and ask how urgent bills will be paid meanwhile.
3. Leave findings to those with authority. A shortage is a matter for the division and COA, not for a meeting or a group chat; see the ethics and internal control guide.
4. Close the bond. If the outgoing head has died, retired, resigned, been separated or been relieved of accountability, the successor applies to cancel the bond (Treasury Circular No. 1-2026, Sec. 7.5.1), and the division must also notify the Bureau of the Treasury within five days (Sec. 9.1); ask the division how the advance will be liquidated.

Never cover a shortage with personal money or rewrite an old record.

What this means for school heads

1. Week one: confirm in writing what you may sign; complete the fund turnover; apply for your bond and, where the circular requires it, the cancellation of your predecessor’s; count property; take over the LIS and dashboard accounts, change the passwords, and get the current eSF7; confirm the required roles.
2. First month: read the plans and data in the review table, hear the people named there, visit classes without rating them, and write the one-page summary.
3. By day 90: test one SIP priority on one group with existing records, review it on the agreed date, record it in the Project Monitoring Report and the AIP, and report to parents with counts, not names.

Records to keep: Annex C and Annex I, your bond papers, the handover list, your letters to the division, the one-page summary, and the test plan and review.

What a school head may not do: give administrative tasks to teachers (DO 002, s. 2024); post learners’ personal information or photos without consent (DO 017, s. 2025; DO 007, s. 2026); or make public anything that may identify a learner in a child protection case (DO 40, s. 2012). And, as a matter of prudence rather than rule, never sign for funds or property you have not verified.

The first 90 days touch all five PPSSH domains: Leading Strategically, Managing School Operations and Resources, Focusing on Teaching and Learning, Developing Self and Others and Building Connections. Serving school heads work at Career Stage 2 or above; teachers preparing for the National Assessment for School Heads (NASH) study the Career Stage 1 indicators of the same strands, such as 4.1.1 on self-assessment. Building Evidence of School Leadership Readiness shows how aspirants can document such work.

Frequently asked questions

Does a teacher-in-charge take over the school’s MOOE bank account?

Yes, when the SDS has designated the TIC as the school’s officer-in-charge. DO 029, s. 2019 defines the school head as “the Principal or Officer-In-Charge (OIC) of the school designated by the SDS” (item 5.15). The SDS must also designate the TIC as special disbursing officer (DO 008, s. 2019, Sec. V.C, item 3; DO 029, s. 2019, item 5.2), and the TIC needs a fidelity bond before signing checks (Treasury Circular No. 1-2026, Sec. 5.1).

Can a new school head refuse to sign the turnover if the funds do not match?

DO 029, s. 2019 does not address a refusal. Your signature on Annex C is a conforme to the amounts it lists, so match them first and put the differences in writing to the SDS; the outgoing head cannot be cleared until the advance is liquidated (item 20).

Does a reassigned principal keep the same fidelity bond?

Not without an update: the bond is “non-transferable and personal”, and an officer moving to a different role in the same agency applies for an increase in accountability or for a transfer of station or change of position (Treasury Circular No. 1-2026, Sec. 8.2). Settle it before signing a check at the new school.

Sources

DepEd issuances

• DepEd Order No. 24, s. 2005, Rationalizing the Roles and Functions of District Supervisors, May 24, 2005: item 2.c.4.
• DepEd Order No. 8, s. 2007, Revised Implementing Guidelines on the Operation and Management of School Canteens in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools, February 6, 2007: item 6.9.
• DepEd Order No. 40, s. 2012, DepEd Child Protection Policy, May 14, 2012: Secs. 10 and 18.
• DepEd Order No. 2, s. 2015, Guidelines on the Establishment and Implementation of the Results-Based Performance Management System (RPMS) in the Department of Education, February 6, 2015: para. 18.
• DepEd Order No. 44, s. 2015, Guidelines on the Enhanced School Improvement Planning (SIP) Process and the School Report Card (SRC), September 29, 2015: items 2 and 7; Sec. V.B.3; SIP Guidebook, Steps 9 to 11.
• DepEd Order No. 008, s. 2019, Revised Implementing Guidelines on the Direct Release, Use, Monitoring and Reporting of Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses Allocation of Schools, Including Other Funds Managed by Schools, May 2, 2019: Sec. I, item 3; Sec. V.C, item 3; Sec. V.D; Sec. VI.A.
• DepEd Order No. 029, s. 2019, Procedural Guidelines on the Management of Cash Advances for School Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses and Program Funds of Non-Implementing Units Pursuant to COA, DBM and DepEd Joint Circular No. 2019-1, October 17, 2019: items 2, 5.2, 5.11, 5.15, 16, 19.1, 20, 32.3, 32.4 and 33.2; Annexes C and I.
• DepEd Order No. 024, s. 2020, National Adoption and Implementation of the Philippine Professional Standards for School Heads, September 7, 2020: indicators 4.1.1 and 4.1.2.
• DepEd Order No. 033, s. 2021, School-Based Disaster Preparedness and Response Measures for Tropical Cyclones, Flooding, and Other Weather-Related Disturbances and Calamities, August 20, 2021: paras. 12 to 14.
• DepEd Order No. 053, s. 2021, Revised Guidelines on the Proper Recording and Booking-Up of School Building Projects, November 26, 2021: Sec. III.f.
• DepEd Order No. 026, s. 2022, Implementing Guidelines on the Establishment of School Governance Council (SGC), June 17, 2022: Sec. V.
• DepEd Memorandum No. 052, s. 2023, Adoption of the DepEd Electronic School Form 7 (eSF7), September 5, 2023: item 6.
• DepEd Order No. 002, s. 2024, Immediate Removal of Administrative Tasks of Public School Teachers, January 26, 2024: Secs. V.A.1 and IX.
• DepEd Order No. 005, s. 2024, Rationalization of Teachers’ Workload in Public Schools and Payment of Teaching Overload, April 29, 2024: Sec. V.A.1, item 5; Sec. V.A.4, item 3; Sec. V.D.4.
• DepEd Order No. 007, s. 2024, Policy Guidelines on the Implementation of the Revised School-Based Management (SBM) System, May 16, 2024: Secs. V.D.1, V.D.2 and V.F.
• DepEd Order No. 017, s. 2024, Amendment to the Provisions of DepEd Order No. 001, s. 2023 on Signing Authorities for Financial Matters in the Department of Education, December 4, 2024: Annex A.
• DepEd Memorandum No. 003, s. 2025, Reconstitution of Records Management Improvement Committee, January 6, 2025: items 2 and 3.
• DepEd Order No. 006, s. 2025, Guidelines on the Streamlining of School Forms and Reports Accomplished by Teachers, March 20, 2025: item 4; Enclosure No. 1.
• DepEd Order No. 017, s. 2025, Revised Basic Education Enrollment Policy, June 13, 2025: Secs. IX.A, X.B, X.C and XI.D.
• DepEd Order No. 018, s. 2025, Implementing Guidelines of the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning Program, June 13, 2025: items 44.3, 46, 80 to 82 and 103.
• DepEd Order No. 006, s. 2026, Guidelines on Ensuring a Safe and Motivating Learning Environment, March 24, 2026: Sec. VI.A.3.
• DepEd Order No. 007, s. 2026, Media Management Guidelines, March 25, 2026: Encl., Secs. V.B.5.b and V.B.12.
• DepEd Order No. 009, s. 2026, Guidelines on the Implementation of the Three-Term School Calendar in Basic Education, April 16, 2026: items 4 and 13; Annex B.
• DepEd Order No. 013, s. 2026, Institutional Guidelines on the Implementation of the School-Based Feeding Program, June 4, 2026: Sec. VIII.A.3.
• DepEd Order No. 014, s. 2026, Guidelines on Learning Continuity in Emergencies, June 4, 2026: items 25, 33 and 44.
• DepEd Order No. 015, s. 2026, Revised Guidelines on Classroom Assessment, Grading System, and Awards and Recognition for the K to 12 Basic Education Program, June 4, 2026: item 61.
• DepEd Order No. 016, s. 2026, Guidelines on Lesson Planning and Learning Design, June 4, 2026: item 33.
• DepEd Memorandum No. 055, s. 2026, Clarificatory Guidelines on the Designation of Learner Formation Officers in Schools Pursuant to the Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act No. 10627, September 17, 2026: Encl., Part II, items b, e and i.
• DepEd FY 2026 School MOOE Allocation, transparency page: implementing and non-implementing unit tags (45,801 schools).

Laws and other government issuances

• Republic Act No. 9155, Governance of Basic Education Act of 2001, August 11, 2001: Sec. 7(D) and 7(E).
• Republic Act No. 10173, Data Privacy Act of 2012, August 15, 2012: Secs. 3(l) and 20.
• Presidential Decree No. 1445, Government Auditing Code of the Philippines, 1978: Secs. 73, 101 and 105.
• COA Circular No. 2015-007, Government Accounting Manual, October 22, 2015: Vol. II, Appendix 71, Property Acknowledgment Receipt, instruction A.
• Bureau of the Treasury, Treasury Circular No. 1-2026, Prescribing the Revised Omnibus Guidelines for the Fidelity Bonding of Accountable Public Officers under Sections 313-335, Chapter 15 of Act No. 2711 or the Revised Administrative Code of 1917, January 22, 2026: Secs. 5.1, 6.4, 7.5.1, 8.2, 8.5, 9.1 and 11.1.
• Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act No. 12009, New Government Procurement Act, approved through GPPB Resolution No. 02-2025, February 4, 2025: Sec. 7.7.5.

Civil Service Commission issuances

• CSC Memorandum Circular No. 08, s. 2025, 2025 Omnibus Rules on Appointments and Other Human Resource Actions, approved by CSC Resolution No. 2500358, April 30, 2025: Secs. 6(d), 13(a), 13(c) and 23.

Court decisions

• Yangson v. Department of Education, G.R. No. 200170, June 3, 2019 (Third Division).

This guide explains DepEd and Civil Service Commission rules for study and professional awareness. It is not legal advice; for a specific case, consult a lawyer or your Schools Division Office’s legal unit.

Written by Mark Anthony Llego for NASH Reviewer. Sources: DepEd Orders No. 029 and 008, s. 2019; DO 005, 002 and 007, s. 2024; DO 44, s. 2015; DO 009, 014 and 016, s. 2026; DO 017 and 018, s. 2025; Treasury Circular No. 1-2026; PD 1445; RA 9155; the 2025 ORAOHRA.