Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Batasan Hills, Quezon City
NINETEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session
HOUSEB|LLNo.9920
----------------11,I--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Introduced by
ACT Teachers Party-List Rep. FRANCE L. CASTRO,
GABRIELA Women's Party Rep. ARLENE D. BROSAS,
and KABATAAN Party-List Rep. RAOUL DANNIEL A. MANUEL
--------------------------------.--------------------------------------------------------____.-----------
AN ACT
INCREASING THE MINIMUM SALARIES OF PUBLIC SCHOOL
TEACHERS TO P50,000 AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR
EXPLANATORY NOTE
The Scz/czry SZcz#c7czrc7z.zc7Jz.o# £czw was amended in 2020 but the struggle of public
school teachers for salaries that can afford decent lives for them and their families is far
from over.
This  latest  adjustment,  via Republic Act  11466  or the Scz/Cry Sfcz77c7crrdz.zczfz.o7€
£czw /SS£/ o/20/9, by no means addressed the disparity between the salaries of those
in  the  low-  and  middle-level  salary  grades-who  comprise  majority  of the  civil
service-and those in the managerial levels and especially of top officials.  As always,
the rank-and-file are at the losing end in this set-up.  As one goes lower in salary grade-
clerks, administrative aides, down to the janitorial positions-the poorer he or she gets.
Those who need additional  finances  most are  given mere  loose change-for one in
Salary Grade  1, an average of p483  annual increase, to be exact.   Despite the salary
adjustment,  the  monthly  pay  of  even  mid-level  personnel  like  public  school
teachers (Salary Grade 11)-stimated to be about 803,272 occupying Teacher I
to Teacher Ill positionsL-remains insufficient to meet the family Living wage of
P1,119 per day or P33,570 per month.  This is the ideal amount for a family of rlve
to have a decent and humane condition of living.
1     Figures from the DBM's Manpower Information system as of November 10, 2022
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On the other hand, top officials like those in SG 31 to SG 33, including members
of the cabinet and of Congress and the President, are given annual increases of more
than P5,000 up to P7,762.
Even after the last tranche of SSL V, the frontliners in education will still be no
better  off  than  the  police   and   soldiers   in  uniform,  whose   salaries  the  Duterte
administration increased by 50% to 100%.  Teachers are given increases of a little over
P6,000 spread across four years, or about P1,500 annually.  They might not bear arms,
but they are professionals with qualifications higher than police and soldiers.  Teachers
cannot enter and remain in the service without the training and fortitude required of the
daily and myriad battles in public education-And it must never be alleged that their
qualifications, training, and fortitude are less than those of the police and the military.
These measly increases are quickly eaten away by inflation and excise taxes -
especially those brought by the TRAIN Law.   For mid-level personnel like teachers,
income taxes further reduce their take-home pay, as their salaries go past the P250,000-
cap for exempt incomes.  The disparity between the salary and the family living wage
continues to widen, as inflation steadily rises without corresponding timely increases in
salaries.  With the measly salaries that public school teachers are receiving, they could
not afford their families' basic needs.
At present, their dire financial woes only worsened, considering the COVID-19
pandemic and several  slaps of increases in the prices of fuel and basic commodities.
Indeed, how far can P27,000 take a Teacher I and his or her family at a time when fuel
prices  rise  almost  weekly?    It  must  be  stressed  that  this  level  of pay  of the  main
frontliners of education-professionals who went through long years of academic and
practical training-amounts to  less than the  family  living wage.   No wonder most
teachers would rather work abroad despite the risks and hazards to Cam almost thrice
or eight times the entry-level salary.
Moreover, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the economic crises that began in
2020,  and  the  international  oil  crisis,  the  Filipino  people,  including  government
employees, are suffering from rising prices of food and basic goods and services, and
oil price hikes.  Philippine Statistics Authority data shows that headline inflation rate is
2.8% in January 2024.  This might have slowed from last year, yes, but it is still much
higher than our neighbors in Asia and the Pacific,  like in Thailand which will  soon
increase its minimum pay for government employees-ven with its negative inflation
rate.
Hence, this bill proposes substantial salary increases for public school teachers
to close the gap between their salaries and the cost of living.   It will also address the
distortion  created  by  the  doubling  of  entry-level  pay  of  military  and  uniformed
personnel.  It also proposes the annual adjustment of salaries to ensure that these keep
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pace  with  the  cost  of living.    This  bill  mandates  the  Department  of Budget  and
Management, in consultation with public sector unions, to recommend to Congress the
appropriation of the necessary funds.
This bill parallels the demand of the rest of those dutifully toiling in the civilian
bureaucracy  for  substantial  salary  increases  and  for  a  national  minimum  salary  of
P33,000, as well as the demand of workers in the private sector for a national minimum
daily wage.    We have put forward this demand for urgent passage through House Bill
6560.
Heeding the demand for substantial salary increases promotes and protects the
rights  of the  majority  of our  frontliners  in  education  to  decent  lives,  to  be  fully
compensated for their hard work, and to a just return of the taxes they are faithfully
paying.   It is a matter of justice, one that must be granted at the soonest possible time
for public school teachers.
Again, teachers fear that the final adjustment of the Salary Standardization Law
will follow the trend of past adjustments of giving paltry increases to those in the rank-
and-file, thus further distorting the salary scales to their disadvantage, which increases
have not been followed by new adjustments for several long years after the last tranche.
Indeed, there is an urgent need for salary increases for public school teachers, along
with other government employees.
For these reasons, immediate approval of this bill is sought.
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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE 0F REPRESENTATIVES
Batasan Hills, Quezon City
NINETEnNTH coNGREss
Second Regular Session
HOusE BILL NO.9an
Introduced by
ACT Teachers Party-List Rep. FRANCE L. CASTRO,
GABRIELA Women's Party Rep. ARLENE D. BROSAS,
and KABATAAN Party-List Rep. RAOUL DANNIEL A. MANUEL
AN ACT
INCREASING THE MINIMUM SALARIES OF PUBLIC SCHOOL
TEACHERS T0 P50,000 AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THI]REFOR
Be  it  enacted by the  Senate  and the  House  Of Representatives  Of the  Philippines  in
Congress assembled:
SECTION 1. Dec/or¢fJ.o# a/po/J.c}7.   It is hereby declared the policy of the State to
alleviate the living conditions of government employees and to guarantee employees'
rights to living wage.
The  State  policies  of ensuring  that  education  receives  the  highest  budgetary
priority and that teaching will attract and retain its rightful share of the best available
talents  through  adequate  remuneration  and  other  means   of job   satisfaction  and
fulfillment are hereby reiterated.
In the formulation of decisions with regard to education reforms, the State shall
likewise hold paramount the protection and promotion of the right of citizens to quality
education at all levels and the rights of education workers to human conditions of work
and a living wage.
S;Eic. 2. Raising Of minimum salaries fior public school teachers in basic education.
The present minimum monthly salary for public school teachers shall be equivalent to
Fifty thousand pesos (P50,000) per month or equivalent to salary grade (SG)  15 of the
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Salary  Standardization  Law,  as  amended,  or  whichever  is  higher,  Provz.dec7,   That
salaries of those occupying higher positions shall be adjusted accordingly.
SEC.  3.    4##w¢/  ¢djws/mc#f  a/ s¢/¢rz.es.   Salaries  of public  school  teachers  and
education support personnel shall be adjusted annually to keep pace with the cost of
living.   The Department of Budget and Management (DBM), upon consultation with
the unions and organizations of public school teachers, shall recommend to Congress
the appropriation of the necessary funds.
SEC. 4.   jRw/e§ ¢#d rcgw/a/J.o#s.   The Department of Education, the Commission on
Higher  Education,   and  the  DBM  shall,   upon  consultation  with  the  unions   and
organizations of public school teachers, promulgate the necessary rules and regulations
of the provisions of this Act.
SHC. 5. 4ppraprJ.a/I.o"s.  The amount necessary for the initial implementation of this
Act shall be taken from current appropriations.  Thereafter, funds needed in subsequent
years shall be included in the General Appropriations Act.
SEC. 6. Scpor¢b7./rty c/¢usc. Should any provision herein be declared unconstitutional,
the same shall not affect the validity of the other provisions of this Act.
SEC.  7. Repc¢/I.#g c/¢wsc.   All  laws,  decrees,  orders, rules  and regulations  or other
issuances  or  parts  thereof inconsistent  with  the  provisions  of this  Act  are  hereby
repealed.
SEC. 8. E/grccfJ.tJj.fy.   This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in
the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.
Approved,
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