Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Batasan Hills, Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No.0 222

Introduced by
ACT Teachers Party-List Rep. FRANCE L. CASTRO,
BAYAN MUNA Party-List Rep. CARLOS ISAGANI T. ZARATE,
Rep. FERDINAND GAITE and Rep. EUFEMIA C. CULLAMAT,
GABRIELA Women’s Party Rep. ARLENE D. BROSAS,
and KABATAAN Party-List Rep. SARAH JANE I. ELAGO

AN ACT
PROVIDING FOR A TEACHING SUPPLIES ALLOWANCE FOR PUBLIC SCHOOL
TEACHERS AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Public school teachers are among the lowest paid professionals in our society.
In spite of this, they are often forced to pay for everyday classroom supplies out of
their own pockets.

Traditionally, the government provides classroom teachers with an annual
allowance for classroom supplies, popularly known as a “chalk allowance” allotted to
purchase classroom essentials such as chalks, erasers, forms and other supplies and
materials. Due to the consistent push of ACT Teachers Party-List for greater subsidy
for education and less burden to the pockets of teachers for expenses necessary for
teaching, the “chalk allowance” was increased from ®700 per teacher per school year
(P3.50 per school day) in 2011 to ®3,500 (P 16.83 per school day) in 2018.

However, this amount is not enough to cover the costs of supplies including
pens, pencils, notebooks, class records, manila paper, cartolina, bond paper, art
paper, even ICT needs, that are essential for the daily functioning of teaching and
learning in the classroom. With the imposition and half-baked implementation of
the insufficiently funded K to 12 Program, public schools were not given enough


number of copies of teachers’ guides and learners’ materials to be used in adopting
the new curriculum. Schools’ budgets for miscellaneous and other operating
expenses are still insufficient to cover the needs for instruction.

Hence, teachers must draw from their own finances to pay for these materials
which, in the first place, should be provided by the government.

This bill proposes to increase the annual allowance for classroom supplies
from P1,500 to P5,000 (or P24.63 per day), thereby easing this onerous financial
burden of teachers.

This was approved by the Committee on Basic Education of the House of
Representatives and the Senate on third reading during the 17" Congress.

Immediate approval of this bill is therefore sought.

Rep. CARLOS ee T. ZARATE us) GAITE

BAYAN MUNA Party-List BAYAN MUNA Party-List
rae MEGS
Rep. EUFEMIA C. CULLAMAT p. ARLEN D. BROSAS

BAYAN MUNA Party-List GABRIELA Women’s Party

Rep. SARAHWANE |. ELAGO



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Batasan Hills, Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No. 0222

Introduced by
ACT Teachers Party-List Rep. FRANCE L. CASTRO,
BAYAN MUNA Party-List Rep. CARLOS ISAGANI T. ZARATE,
Rep. FERDINAND GAITE and Rep. EUFEMIA C. CULLAMAT,
GABRIELA Women’s Party Rep. ARLENE D. BROSAS,
and KABATAAN Party-List Rep. SARAH JANE I. ELAGO

AN ACT
PROVIDING FOR A TEACHING SUPPLIES ALLOWANCE FOR PUBLIC SCHOOL
TEACHERS AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Title. This Act shall be known and cited as the “Teaching Supplies
Allowance Act of 2019.”

SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. \t is hereby declared to be the policy of the State
to promote and improve the economic status of teachers and assist them in
providing quality education to their students.

SECTION 3. Teaching Supplies Allowance. A Teaching Supplies Allowance for the
purchase of chalks, erasers, forms, and other classroom supplies and materials in the
amount of Five thousand pesos (P5,000.00) per teacher per school year is hereby
authorized.

SECTION 4. Coverage. The grant of the cash allowance authorized in this Act shall be
limited to teachers who are engaged in actual classroom teaching in public basic
education.


SECTION 5. Funding. In the first year of the effectivity of this Act, the amount of
Two thousand five hundred pesos (2,500.00) per teacher per school year, shall be
charged against the current appropriation of the Department of Education (DepEd)
for the Teaching Supplies Allowance, while the additional amount of Two thousand
five hundred pesos (P2,500.00) per teacher per school year, shall be charge against
any available funds and/or savings of the DepEd. Thereafter, the amount of Five
thousand pesos (P5,000.00) per teacher per school year, shall be included in the
DepEd budget for the Teaching Supplies Allowance under the General Appropriations
Act.

SECTION 6. Periodic Review for Increases. The Secretary of Education is hereby
mandated to conduct a periodic review of the Teaching Supplies Allowance, taking
into account the current prices of classroom supplies, and, if warranted, recommend
the necessary increase in the amount of the allowance.

SECTION 7. Repealing Clause. All laws, decrees, resolutions, orders or ordinances,
rules and regulations or parts thereof inconsistent with this Act, are hereby repealed,
amended or modified accordingly.

SECTION 6. Effectivity Clause. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) newspapers of general
circulation.

Approved,