New bill to raise teachers’ minimum pay to almost 50k

Another measure seeking to increase public school teachers' salaries has been filed in the 19th Congress.

House Bill 4070, or "An Act Upgrading the Minimum Salary Grade Level of Teachers from Salary Grade 11 to 19," seeks to raise the minimum wage grade level for public school teachers from Salary Grade 11, currently at P25,439, to SG 19, or P49,835.

Authored by Quezon City Rep. Patrick Michael Vargas, the bill seeks to boost the morale and self-esteem of Filipino teachers by contributing to their socio-economic and professional growth.

The salary grade levels of those occupying higher positions shall then be adjusted accordingly.

"With the rising costs of living, many teachers still struggle with the financial limitations of their profession while maintaining the delivery of quality education to our students amid the pandemic," the explanatory note read.

If enacted, the measure may attract more individuals to commit to teaching in public schools, according to the bill.

However, Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Z. Duterte said that increasing public school teachers' salaries might result in private schools losing teachers or, worse, shutting down.

"There could be mass migration from private to public schools which we are actually seeing now. They are losing teachers and transferring to DepEd. It will force more closures of private schools," Duterte said earlier this month during the House Committee on Appropriations hearing on the proposed P710-billion budget of the Department of Education in 2023.

She likewise stressed that increasing the salary of public school teachers would "put undue pressure on private educational institutions."

Since the 18th Congress, teacher organizations have pushed for a salary raise, claiming that Republic Act 11466, also known as the Salary Standardization Law of 2019, is insufficient to support their living means amid inflation and the pandemic.

Similar proposals filed in the previous Congress failed to get past committee review despite clamor from teacher groups.