Angara urged to back public school teachers as they call for wage hike

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) on Monday called on Education Secretary Sonny Angara to stand up for them as they continuously appeal for a “substantial” salary increase for public school teachers and education support personnel. 

In a letter addressed to Angara, ACT chairperson Vladimer Quetua reiterated their demand for a P50,000 entry-level salary for teachers, and a P33,000 base pay for Salary Grade 1 employees.

Quetua urged the chief of the Department of Education (DepEd) to stand up for the very education workers he once championed when he was still senator. 

“We call on Secretary Angara to honor his advocacy by endorsing this petition as a mandate from teachers and education workers. Granting decent and livable salaries will not only ease our economic burdens, but it will be a decisive step in resolving the worsening education crisis,” Quetua said.

GMA News Online sought a comment from DepEd and Angara himself, and will update this story once they respond.

In July 2024, after he was chosen by President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. as the new DepEd Secretary, Angara said he would study the proposal to increase the entry-level salary of public school teachers to P50,000. 

He said he would coordinate with other agencies like the Department of Finance (DOF) and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) regarding the matter.

Angara back then also said he not only wants better working conditions for teachers, but also improved salaries and benefits for them.

But a year later, education workers across the country once again issued a petition, airing concerns over the “paltry pay adjustments” under the Executive Order (EO) No. 64, s. 2024, which was signed by the President last year. 

Marcos' EO No. 64 states that the updated Salary Schedule shall be implemented in National Government Agencies in four tranches, with the first implementation on January 1, 2024; the second on January 1, 2025; third on January 1, 2026; and the fourth and final tranche beginning on January 1, 2027.

“The Marcos administration's [Salary Standardization Law VI] is nothing but an insult to the backbone of our education system. A P1,500 monthly increase for entry-level teachers who comprise more than half of our nearly one million public school teachers is a mockery of our profession,” Quetua said. 

“How can an average annual P50 daily increase for teachers and a measly P20 for Salary Grade 1 employees address the crushing inflation we are facing and have long suffered? The majority of workers’ salaries in the education sector remain far below the family living wage, while the meager increases have effectively been negated by higher taxes and mandatory contributions,” he added. 

ACT Teachers president and first nominee Antonio Tinio also said that the SSL VI “perpetuates an unjust system where high-ranking officials receive substantial increases while rank-and-file employees get mere crumbs.”

Tinio also expressed hope that Angara will stand with educators in their fight for economic justice.

“We urge Secretary Angara to find common ground with the teachers based on his previous advocacy. Naniniwala kami na nauunawaan niya ang kalagayan ng mga guro at kawani ng edukasyon [we believe he understands the plight of teachers and education workers],” Tinio said. —RF, GMA Integrated News