President Rodrigo Duterte admitted he will not be able to fulfill his promise to increase salary of public school teachers, since the government does not have enough funds.
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During his cabinet meeting in Batangas last Tuesday, he said “The teachers are shouting. That cannot be. I don’t have that big money,”
Briones also clarified that she was not against the salary increase, “I have been working with the economic team in the Cabinet to find ways and means to realize a salary increase for DepEd’s close to 830,000 teachers,” she said.
“Last year, when this was taken up in the Cabinet, the decision was to allow the fourth and last tranche of the SSL this year, and for DBM to come up with a study on how to effect the next salary increase. The next salary increase is presently under discussion,” she added
Looking further to the newly-signed law, an entry-level teacher earning P20,754 under salary grade 11 will now take home a monthly pay of P22,316 or an increase of P1,562.
And in the succeeding years until 2023, the Teacher I salary will increase to P23,877, P25,439, and P27,000. The country’s financial managers had earlier expressed opposition to the proposal to double the salary of teachers.
President Duterte said ” “If there’s money, why not? My mother was a public school teacher. My mother was a retired school supervisor. If only there’s enough money,”.
The recent increase received mixed reactions from teachers. The Teachers’ Dignity Coalition though thankful for the increase in all government workers, they have also expressed their dismay from what was expected to be a P10,000 pay hike on all teachers and DepEd personnel.
Meanwhile, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said that President Duterte still wants to fulfill his promise, but not this year for the government has no enough funds for the increase of almost a million public school teachers.
“As we have said before, the promise of the President will be complied with. Maybe not this year, but his term has not yet ended,” Panelo said.
If the salary increase was not what we expected to be. Let us be hopeful for something better, maybe.
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