Gatchalian: Bill to increase teachers' pay to cost gov't P60B annually

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian has said it would cost the government around P60-billion annually to fund a proposed bill that seeks to increase the salaries of public school teachers.

Gatchalian, author of Senate Bill (SB) 149 or the proposed "Teacher Salary Increase Act," said he wants to uplift the morale of teachers by raising their salaries so they are at par with the rates of neighboring countries.

“Natuklasan namin sa aming research dito sa Asia, tayo ay pangatlo sa pinakamababa pagdating sa sweldo. Mas mababa sa 'tin Myanmar at Laos,” the senator said.

(We found in our research that we have the third lowest salaries for teachers in Asia. The pay given in Myanmar and Laos is lower.)

“Importante na ‘yung morale ng ating mga guro ay laging mataas dahil practical din ang ating mga guro eh. Kung mayroon kang gastusin talagang kailangan mo rin ng wastong sweldo para maiuwi mo rin sa pamilya mo,” he said.

(It’s important that the morale of our teachers is always high because they are practical too. If they have expenses, of course, they also need enough pay to provide for the needs of their family.)

“Kaya nga isa sa pinaka-unang bill na finile ko ay taasan ang sweldo ng mga guro. Ang entry-level ng mga guro ngayon nasa P25,000 tinaasan to around P35,000 more or less… para maging kapantay naman natin ‘yung ibang karatig-bansa sa Asia,” he added.

(That’s why the first bill that I filed is to increase their salaries. From P25,000 as entry-level, we raised it to more or less P35,000 to be at par with other countries in Asia.)

Under SB 149, the legislator proposes to increase the Salary Grade of Teacher 1 from SG 11 (P25,439) to SG 13 (P29,798); Teacher 2 from SG 12 (P27,608) to SG 14 (P32,321); and Teacher 3 from SG 13 (P29,798) to SG 15 (P35,097).

Gatchalian stressed the passage of the measure into law is just the “first step” as he hopes to make the lives of Filipino teachers more comfortable in the future.

“Ako naman pinigilan ko rin kung ano'ng kaya ng government. ‘Yung proposal natin magkakahalaga yan ng almost P60B. Medyo malaki-laki dahil marami tayong guro. Ito ay Step 1. Kung matapos natin ‘to, hopefully sa susunod na steps ay mas mataas pa na entry-level,” he added.

(I stopped at what rate the government can provide because this proposal will cost the government almost P60B. That’s big too But that’s just Step 1. After we pass this, we’re hoping to push for higher entry-level pay.) -- BAP, GMA News