Diokno wants SSL to ‘run its course’

The four-tranche Salary Standardization Law (SSL) must run its course completely before the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) starts to consider adjusting the salaries of public school teachers, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said Wednesday.

The Cabinet official took note that the salary of public school teachers has been increased this year with the third tranche of the SSL.

“We let the salary standardization law run its course ... We prefer that we stick to the salary standardization, because it has four tranches. That is true for all government employees,” Diokno told reporters in a forum in Manila.

“In fact, it’s already done for 2018 and 2019 ... We prefer to let the third and fourth tranches of salary standardization law,” the Budget chief said.

Under the third tranche of the SSL, the monthly salary of an entry-level teacher or Teacher 1 under salary grade 11 has increased to P20,179 from P18,549 in 2015 before the law was implemented.

It will then increase to P20,754 a month in 2019, when the fourth tranche of the SSL is in place.

Teachers and other government workers also receive mid-year and year-end bonuses equivalent to a month’s salary, as well as a cash gift of P5,000, personal economic relief allowance of P2,000 a month, and performance enhancement incentive of P5,000.

“Annually, a teacher enjoys bonuses and allowances of P74,358,” Diokno said.

“At the same time, as a result of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law, there will be a sharp cut in personal income taxes which will significantly increase the take-home pay of teachers,” he said.

An entry-level teacher is tax-exempt under the TRAIN law in light of an annual taxable income of below P250,000.

“Additional take home pay due to lower taxes for Teacher 1 will amount to P35,537, or 176 percent of his or her monthly salary,” Diokno said.

The DBM will hire a company to do a study on the salary of public school teachers and other government employees compared with their counterparts in the private sector, the Budget chief noted.

“Sometime in January 2019, we will commission a new study to benchmark the salary of teachers and other personnel nurses, doctors, lawyers, etc.,” he said.

The DBM will consider further increases in the salary of public school teachers after assessing the results of the 2019 study. “We will evaluate for the budget proposal for 2020 ... It should come after a market study on the compensation of public versus private employees,” Diokno said.

“We need more time to ensure a fiscally sustainable, prudent, and equitable salary adjustment for public school teachers,” he said. — VDS, GMA News