Revilla clan introduces bill to increase the grade-level salary of public school teachers
Revilla clan introduces bill to increase the grade-level salary of public school teachers
The
success of any nation is directly correlated to the quality of its public
school teachers.
The
Philippine Constitution mandates that the government give education the highest
budgetary priority and ensure that the teaching profession is competitive in
terms of pay and job satisfaction so that it can recruit and keep the most
qualified individuals.
Representative
Bryan Revilla of the Agimat Party-list has introduced House Bill No. 3376,
or the Public School Teachers’ Salary Upgrading Act, which aims
to raise the salaries of teachers in public schools.
Cavite Representatives
Lani Mercado-Revilla of the 2nd District and Ramon “Jolo” Revilla III
of the 1st District were also co-sponsors of the bill.
Teachers
have a right to a living wage that provides for them and their families in
accordance with the provisions of the Public School Teachers’ Magna Carta. This
wage must be competitive with the wages of other professions that require the
same or similar skills and knowledge.
Public
school teachers are frustrated by the government’s failure to improve their pay
in line with inflation. The starting salary for a Teacher I position is
currently twenty thousand seven hundred fifty-four pesos (P20,754).
The
take-home pay for a teacher supporting a family of four is predicted to be
around nineteen thousand pesos (P19,000). This is significantly lower
than the twenty-five thousand two hundred fifty-two pesos (P25,252) per
year that is considered to be the minimum wage for a family of four in the
National Capital Region area (NCR).
In his
explanatory note, Revilla noted that it’s no surprise that many public school
educators would rather leave the country in search of greener pastures and a
higher salary in a less-than-respectable profession.
“This
proposed legislation would raise the minimum salary grade for public school
teachers from Salary Grade 11 to Salary Grade 15. Hopefully, this will
encourage and retain highly qualified teachers in the country,” Revilla
added.
The
government should finally grant this group of unsung heroes a raise in pay
they’ve been due for a long time, as doing so would serve not only the
country’s current interest but also the better future we’re all working toward
through these educators.