Malacañang noncommittal on pay hikes for teachers

MANILA, Philippines – On World Teachers’ Day, Malacañang paid tribute to teachers in the country, but remained noncomittal about proposals in Congress to increase their salaries.  

Palace Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said lawmakers must first consider where the budget for the pay hikes would be sourced from. 

“Ang aking batid ay kapag mayroong panukalang batas na mayroong budgetary considerations, katulad nga niyan, isa sa mga standard na procedure na sinusunod ng ating Kongreso ay inaalam ‘yung budgetary implications niyan, tinatanong sa ating Department of Budget and Management dahil mayroon silang patakaran na hindi sila magpapasa ng batas na hindi tiyak ‘yung pagkukunan ng pondo,” Coloma said in an interview with state-run Radyo ng Bayan on Sunday, October 5.

(As far as I know, whenever there are proposed laws that have budget considerations, one of the standards of procedure taht Congress follows is to determine its budgetary implications and consult the Department of Budget and Management because they have a rule that they will not pass a law until the source of funding is clear.)

There will be no salary increases for government employees, including public school teachers, under the proposed 2015 budget, Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad earlier said.  

Instead, the government will give two bonuses in 2015 – a performance enhancement bonus equivalent to a month’s worth pay and a P5,000 performance-based bonus.  

Abad told lawmakers during the early stages of briefings on the proposed 2015 budget that implementing pay hikes would entail sacrificing allocations for pensions and retirement benefits for police and military personnel. 

Abad said the government is currently studying the need to raise the salaries of government employees and he will recommend wage hikes in 2016 depending on the outcome of the study. 

The House of Representatives approved the proposed P2.606 trillion budget for 2015 on 2nd reading before it paused for a 3-week recess in September. Budget debates, meanwhile, are still ongoing in the Senate. 

There are pending bills in the both chambers of Congress to increase the salaries and benefits of public school teachers. 

ACT Teachers Representative Antonio Tinio has filed House Bill 245, which seeks to to raise the minimum salaries of public school teachers to P25,000, from P18,549. Tinio said his bill has the support of 121 lawmakers. Education Secretary Armin Luistro has also backed the proposal.

Meanwhile, Senator Alan Cayetano wants to give teachers additional compensation worth P10,000 in the form of allowances from the school board’s funds (P9,000) and allowances for medical check ups (P1,000). 

Coloma said the proposals need to be studied further given constraints in the budget. 

39,000 new teachers

Although teachers can’t expect pay hikes in 2015, Coloma said the government has allocated P92.3 billion in the proposed budget for the hiring of 39,000 new teachers, as well as the construction of new classrooms.  

At least P2 billion have also been also been provided for the training of public school teachers in preparation for the implemenation of the K-to-12 program, which will increase the number of years for basic education in the Philippines from 10 years to 12 years. 

The Department of Education gets the biggest slice of the pie among other government agencies with a proposed P364.958 billion for 2015. 

On World Teachers’ Day, Education Secretary Brother Armin Luistro called on all students to pay tribute to their teachers, Coloma said. 

“Ang panawagan po niya, “write, text, tweet, call”— sulatan, mag-text, mag-tweet, at tawagan natin ang kahit isa sa ating naging guro, at sabihin natin sa kanya: “Maraming salamat po, mahal na guro,” Coloma said. 

(His call, ‘write, text tweet, call’ one of your teachers and tell him/her: ‘Thank you, my beloved teacher.)

In the Philippines, Proclamation 242 mandates the celebration of National Teachers’ Month from September 5 to October 5. (READ: #ThankYouTeacher: What is your message for your teacher?) – Angela Casauay/Rappler.com