Legarda wants P25K basic pay for public school teachers

MANILA, Philippines – Another lawmaker is pushing for the salary increase of public school teachers in the Philippines.

Senator Loren Legarda has filed Senate Bill 2351 which seeks to increase teachers’ monthly minimum pay from P18,549 ($425*) to P25,000 ($573).

“This bill aims to raise the salary of public school teachers and its non-teaching personnel to ensure that the State fulfills its responsibility of ensuring adequate compensation for teachers and to prevent our competent and efficient educators from leaving the country for better opportunities abroad,” Legarda said in a statement Friday, August 15.

Once the bill is enacted, even public schools’ non-teaching personnel will get an increase from P9,000 ($206) to P15,000 ($343) every month. Salaries of employees with higher positions will also be adjusted. (READ: Know the best schools for teachers in PH)

The proposed bill seeks to prioritize government appropriation for the salary increases over “non-educational and non-agricultural budgetary allocations.”

Legarda is not the first lawmaker and senator to file a similar bill in Congress. Representative Antonio Tinio of ACT Teachers already filed House Bill 245 even before the first session of the 16th Congress started, while Senator Sergio Osmeña III filed Senate Bill 2281 in June. 

Meanwhile, Senator Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara is pushing for an even higher salary increase when he filed in 2013 Senate Bill 61, which seeks to upgrade public school teachers’ minimum pay from Salary Grade 11 (P18,549) to Salary Grade 19 (P33,859 or $775).

In June, Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said government will need to assess all the proposals based on how much they will impact the national budget.

Legarda also cited Republic Act 4670 or the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers which protects the rights of the teachers to a “decent salary” by ensuring that:

• compensation levels compare favorably to those paid in other occupations requiring equivalent qualifications
• compensation levels ensure reasonable standard of life for themselves and their families

“The country can only move forward in the global knowledge economy if government ensures that it invests enough on improving its human capital,” she added. (READ: DepEd aiming to hire and keep best and brightest teachers) – Jee Geronimo/Rappler.com

*$1 = P43.67