Marcos signs law giving public school teachers increased allowance

President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. on Monday signed the Kabalikat sa Pagtuturo Act, which aims to support public school teachers by increasing their allowances. 

This allowance is designed to alleviate the financial burdens associated with purchasing teaching supplies and materials, thereby enabling teachers to focus more on their crucial education roles and less on out-of-pocket expenses. 

The law authorizes an increase in the annual teaching allowance for public school teacher, the Presidential Communications Office said. It states that the teaching allowance will increase from P5,000 to P10,000 beginning in the school year 2025-2026.

“Indeed, this new law institutionalizes the provision of an annual teaching allowance and gradually increases it from the current five thousand pesos to ten thousand pesos, which will not be subjected to income tax,” Marcos said during the ceremonial signing in Malacañang.

“And while it might seem inconsequential to those who are already used to having a steady supply of basic materials for work, this amount makes an enormous difference for our beloved teachers and for the students," he added.

The PCO noted that the newly approved law represents the most significant increase to date. Public school teachers have historically received allowances for their actual teaching expenses, which began from P100 in 1988 to P5,000 by 2021.

Senator Ramon Bong Revilla Jr., principal author and sponsor of the bill in the Senate, said the measure aims to honor the hard work and dedication of public school teachers by institutionalizing and increasing their annual teaching allowance.

“This is truly a monumental day for our dear teachers. They will already reap the sweet fruits of our labor since we started championing this five years ago,” he said in a statement.

According to Senator Sonny Angara, one of the authors of the measure, the new law provides teaching supplies allowance of up to P10,000 annually for all public school teachers. The allowance will not be subject to income tax.

Marcos lauded teachers as he called them the unsung heroes of society, ''toiling and burning the midnight oil, as well as teaching the Filipino children not for money or prestige." — BM/AOL, GMA Integrated News