Teachers renew appeal for P30K entry-level pay

As the country marks National Teachers' Month, members of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines on Monday renewed their call to increase their salaries.

The group held a protest in front of the House of Representatives urging Congress to prioritize an upgrade in the pay of entry-level public school teachers to Salary Grade 15 or P30,000 per month.

“Nandito tayo sa tarangkahan at binubuksan natin ang National Teachers’ Month na kung saan na dapat iangat ang kalagayan ng guro at kalagayan ng edukasyon,” ACT chairperson Vlademir Quetua said in Mark Salazar's report on “24 Oras.”

(We are in front of the House of Representatives, and we are opening the National Teachers’ Months with the call to raise the status of teachers and the state of education.)

At present, an educator serving as Teacher I gets a salary of P25,439 per month, equivalent to SG 11. Under the Salary Standardization Law of 2019, a Teacher 1 gets a P1,500 increase per month in 2023.

“Last tranche na ‘yun ng Salary Standardization Law, part five. After nun, ay wala na. At nangangamba kami baka maulit ang panahon ni GMA (Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo) na halos isang dekada. Kaya kailangan namin i-push ang sa kasalukuyang budget deliberation sa 2023 budget, na maitaas ang sahod at budget sa edukasyon,” Quetua said.

(That's the last tranche of the Salary Standardization Law, part five. After that, there’s no increase. And we fear that there might be a repeat of the time of former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo when [there was no hike] for almost a decade. So, we need to push in the current budget deliberation to increase the salary and education budget.)

GMA News has sought comment from the Department of Education regarding the matter but has yet to respond as of posting time.—Mel Matthew Doctor/LDF, GMA News