Marcos pushes pay hike for teachers

By Kristina Maralit  and Niña Myka Pauline Arceo

August 15, 2023 370

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday directed the Department of Education (DepEd) to find ways to increase the salaries of teachers.

The presidential directive is on top of the pay hike already mandated by the Salary Standardization Law.

Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte confirmed the directive in an interview following the "Brigada Eskwela" activities of the DepEd at the Victorino Mapa High School in Barangay San Miguel, Manila, where Marcos was also present.

"We have increases based on the Salary Standardization Law, that is in tranches every year. And when we took over last year, President Marcos ordered a study not just on the yearly increase but the long-term outlook on how to implement increases to the salary of teaching and non-teaching DepEd personnel," Duterte said.

"So, we are waiting for the result of that study which states the increases, and it also contains the comparison of inflation and the economic indicators ... forecast of economic indicators in the coming years," she said.

Increasing teachers' salaries was one of Marcos' campaign promises.

He also vowed to address other pressing concerns of the education sector, such as the lack of school facilities and rundown classrooms, especially in remote areas, and the slow-paced upskilling of teachers and literacy-challenged students.

The President hopes to address the last two issues through the Education department's new "Matatag Curriculum," as it is a significant program that will benefit not just Filipino learners but educators as well.

"This is very significant because ... we are trying to fix the curriculum to be a good fit to the needs of the Filipino youth," he said in the same interview.

He reiterated that the Matatag curriculum will also strengthen the country's "international score," especially when it comes to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects.

He noted that the revised curriculum will give students the chance to choose between vocational or technical training after finishing 10th grade in the present academic year.

The Matatag Curriculum aims to "decongest" the current K to 12 curriculum by reducing the number of competencies.

It is more focused on the development of foundational skills such as literacy, numeracy, and socio-emotional skills for kindergarten to Grade 3.

The President also said he is discussing with DepEd officials and other stakeholders proposals to revert the opening of classes to the pre-pandemic schedule.

He said a thorough study has to be made to determine which schedule would be most beneficial to students and teachers.

The President said the administration has no preference and is only looking at what is best for Filipino learners.

The government is also looking to improve the salaries, allowances and other benefits of other government employees.

In a statement on Monday, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said P48 million has been drawn from this year's budget of the Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG) to fund an in-depth study of the government's Compensation and Position Classification System.

"This is intended to encourage our fellow citizens to join the government sector and also to motivate our existing employees to remain in government service and perform diligently and effectively," Pangandaman said.

The Department of Budget and Management has earmarked P1.368 billion in the proposed fiscal year 2024 National Expenditure Program (NEP) to raise the uniform allowance by P1,000 for over 1.3 million state employees.

The department was said to be conducting a simultaneous evaluation of the different benefits granted within various tiers of public service, to ascertain if modifications are necessary.

In January, the final portion of salary raises for government employees was put into effect. The increase is mandated by Republic Act 11466, or the "Salary Standardization Law of 2019."

Under RA 11466, the salary for government workers will be carried out in four phases, spanning fiscal years 2020 to 2023.