Public school teachers are now considered more empowered in expressing their demands to the government, especially with regards to their decades-old call for higher compensation.
‘We are tied to the P50 pay per day from 2024 to 2027 under the law,’ said Vladimer Quetua, chairperson of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT). ‘If we will follow this law, while prices of goods and services are skyrocketing, we were hoping for some sort of an upgrade.’
Inadequate wages
On Oct. 3, as part of the observance of World Teachers’ Day, teachers across Metro Manila staged a mass walkout again to underscore the longtime challenges of their profession-inadequate wages, shortage of learning facilities and materials, and an education budget yet to meet the standards set by the United Nations.
The mass action also doubled as an expression of outrage over the systemic corruption being uncovered lately in public works projects.
Quetua said the clamor continues for teachers to be granted an entry-level salary of P50,000, much more than current P30,000.
Pending bills
He said there is a pending bill at the House of Representatives-House Bill No. 203-which pushes for the P50,000 minimum.
Another pending bill, House Bill No. 2903, seeks an across-the-board pay increase of P15,000, he added. In response to the calls made by the teachers who took part in Friday’s mass walkout, the Department of Education (DepEd) on Saturday said it continues to acknowledge their right to peaceful assembly and the significance of the issues being raised.
‘We likewise acknowledge that under the leadership of President Marcos, the government continues to champion the welfare of public servants-including our teachers-through reforms like Executive Order No. 64, which, last year, delivered a significant and much-needed boost to educators’ wages,’ said Dennis Legaspi, chief media relations officer of DepEd.
Legaspi was referring to the updated salary schedule that was applied to all civilian government personnel in all branches of the government.
The DepEd has been holding dialogues with all teacher representatives to address the concerns in a collaborative manner. ‘Rest assured, the DepEd leadership is not only listening but is committed to taking meaningful action,’ Legaspi said.
Go past ‘lip service’
For Quetua, however, the agency should now match its reassuring statements with concrete steps. ‘We welcome their cknowledgment, but this would just be another lip service from the government. What we want are actions from the Department of Education,’ he said.
‘Piles of cash are being wasted in the hands of corrupt officials while teachers are being burdened by the low wages (and) struggle with the rising prices of commodities,’ Quetua said. ‘From the mass walkout, we saw how the teachers are now more motivated and empowered to express the longtime demand,’ he noted.