Chapter I

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

As a school ages and enrollment increases, heightened demand for maintenance services

of facilities and structure arises as an addition to the growing number of school personnel and

operating expenses. Basic and supplementary budgets are necessary to provide the school with the

per student allocation of funding to help aid continually its different operations.

The Philippine Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and the Department of

Education (DepEd) collaboratively set the guidelines for the implementation of the release of

Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) fund for both elementary and secondary

schools in the Philippines based on Section 10 of the Republic Act No. 9155, also known as

Governance of Basic Education Act of 2001, which provides that the appropriations intended for

the regional and field offices (elementary/secondary schools and schools division offices) are to

be allocated directly and released immediately by the DBM to the said offices (excerpted from

DepEd Order No. 13, s. 2016). The government appropriated the monthly MOOE fund to assist

the schools in handling its myriad operations following justifiable manners of expenditures, proper

liquidations and other policies. With this kind of support, the schools are expected to produce some

tangible improvement results.

According to the DepEd Order No. 13, s. 2016, the allowable expenditures for the MOOE

fund are limited only to instructional and office supplies, repair and maintenance – school building,

equipment and other structures, janitorial and security services, transportations, and other utilities.

Regardless of the amount of MOOE fund that significantly differs from one school to another,
maintenance and repair of school building facilities is more often given the highest priority for

good reasons.

Lee (1987), as cited by McDuling et.al (2010), stressed that the built environment expresses

in physical form the complex social and economic factors which give structure and life to a

community. There can be little doubt that dilapidated and unhealthy buildings in a decaying

environment depress the quality of life and contribute in some measure to antisocial behavior. This

is quite the same with school buildings and facilities in relation to school community. Furthermore,

the need to adequately invest in school facility maintenance remains critical for a number of

reasons. Lawrence (2003) pointed out that poor school facility conditions negatively impact staff

and student morale and Cash (1993) even found that schools with better facility conditions had

higher student achievement scores. Funding, therefore, is of utmost significance.

Sta. Cruz South Central Elementary School is located in Lipay Sta. Cruz, Zambales. For

the school year 2015-2016, it has a total enrolment of 754 students and MOOE fund amounting to

three hundred forty-four thousand four hundred (P344, 400.00). After first formally opened in

1949 as an elementary school, Sta. Cruz South Central had undergone so much problems regarding

on the maintenance, repair and provision of new physical facilities. This was before MOOE was

provided. With the help of MOOE fund, the school is gradually yet continually moving towards

more amelioration in all aspects. Its MOOE fund is rising, since it first became a beneficiary, in

direct proportionality with the enrollment. The determination to study how Sta. Cruz South Central

ES made use of its MOOE fund within three years, from 2015 to 2018, urged the researchers to

initiate this study. Moreover, the extent of MOOE’s contribution to how the school improved

within the three-year period especially with its building and other structural repair and maintenance

was also investigated.

Statement of the Problem

This study was conducted to look at how the monthly MOOE fund in Sta. Cruz South

Central ES was utilized from 2015 to 2018 and to determine how it contributed to the improvement

of the school in the aspect of structures and other related facilities.

Specifically, the researchers sought answers to the following problems:

1. What are the physical allowances of the MOOE expenditures of Sta. Cruz South Central ES in

yearly

basis from 2015 until 2018 in terms of:

1.1 Areas of expenses

1.2 Percentage allocation amount per area of expense

2. What is the extent of the improvement of Sta. Cruz South Central ES as subsidized by the

MOOE fund in terms of:

2.1 Building maintenance

2.2 Physical facilities

2.3 Instructional Materials

2.4 Other features

Significance of the Study

The result of this study will reinforce the knowledge on the significance of proper

utilization of MOOE fund for the maintenance and enhancement of school building and facilities.

Specifically, this study is deemed beneficial to the following:

 Government. This output will encourage them to continue and even augment the provision

of MOOE funds for the progress of schools.

School Administrators. This study will help them decide on the priorities of their school’s

monthly MOOE fund and aid them in setting goals for more essential and non-fleeting MOOE

expenditure results.

Other Researchers. This work will lay the foundation for further conduct of more

extensive research on the significance of MOOE to schools’ maintenance and progress.

Scope and Limitations

This study is concerned with the utilization of MOOE funds and its contribution to school

improvement of Sta. Cruz South Central ES during the year 2017-2018.

The respondents were assessed according to their observation on the school development.

A survey questionnaire was utilized for data gathering. To ensure the validity of the questionnaire,

the researcher conducted an interview, analysis of liquidation reports, observes timely and optimal

use of schools resources, examines transparency (e.g. transparency board) and accountability, read

manuals on accounting guidelines and procedures for use of non-implementing units/schools,

DepEd orders, circulars and memorandum relating to the implementing guidelines on the release

and utilization of funds.

For the purpose of enriching its content and internet sources, researches and other materials

that have common beings on the research were considered.

However, the respondents are limited only to school head, teachers, pupils and their

corresponding guardians. The other limitation has to do with the descriptive design that the study

used. According to Kumar (2008), the descriptive method lacks predictive power; the researcher
may discover and describe “what is” but is unable to predict “what would be”. Possibly there

could have been some faking of responses to the items from the respondents for the generation of

data and responses. The extent it occurred might have influenced the findings of this study.