Thousands of Plantilla Items Created as Sulu Schools Move Under DepEd Region IX
DEPED SULU – The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has cleared the creation of 3,627 teaching and teaching-related positions for the newly formed Schools Division Office (SDO) of Sulu, the Department of Education (DepEd) announced on Tuesday, October 27, 2026.
The new plantilla items are meant to give Sulu’s public school workforce a secure place in the national education system as the province’s schools are transferred from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) to DepEd’s Zamboanga Peninsula regional office (Region IX).
What the new positions cover
Of the total, 3,618 are teaching items ranging from Teacher I to Master Teacher II for kindergarten, elementary and junior high school. The remaining nine are teaching-related posts, namely Head Teacher I and School Principal I and II.
These are separate from the 84 administrative and division office positions the DBM approved earlier for the SDO Sulu headquarters. DepEd said 40 of those 84 items are now held by personnel of the Bangsamoro education ministry assigned in Sulu, who are being given priority for absorption under Civil Service Commission rules.
Angara: ‘You are protected’
Education Secretary Sonny Angara said the department understands the anxiety that a change of this size brings to teachers. In a statement delivered in Filipino, he assured Sulu’s teachers and workers that they are part of the DepEd family, that they are protected, and that their livelihood will not be neglected.
“It’s our obligation to recognize the sacrifices of our teachers,” Angara added, noting that the transition follows President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s pledge that no one will be left behind as Sulu’s education system moves to DepEd.
DepEd said it is working with the DBM, the Region IX office and local governments to speed up deployment and appointments so that salaries, benefits and school operations continue without interruption.
Region IX Director Ronelo Al Firmo also said the department will discuss the Expanded Career Progression system with Sulu teachers, pointing out that some are about to retire while still holding the Teacher I rank.
Background
Sulu was excluded from BARMM after a 2024 Supreme Court ruling and was placed under the Zamboanga Peninsula through Executive Order No. 91, series of 2025. DepEd formally took over the province’s schools division on October 20, the same day President Marcos and Angara visited Kawmpang Elementary School in Patikul, Sulu.
No application schedule or list of specific vacancies for the new items has been released yet. Teachers and applicants are advised to watch for official announcements from DepEd Region IX and SDO Sulu.