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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
TWENTIETH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. 2893 
Introduced by Representative JESUS R. MARQUEZ 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
This bill seeks to upgrade the minimum salary grade levels of public-school teachers to 
Salary Grade 15 and teaching personnel in Higher Education to Salary Grade 16.  
As stated in Section 5(5), Article XIV of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, “the State shall 
assign the highest budgetary priority to education and ensure 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.”  
As the heart of the Philippine educational system, teachers play a vital role in shaping 
the minds and values of Filipino children. They nurture learning, instill essential skills, and 
cultivate character among the youth. These contributions benefit not only the individual child 
but the nation as a whole. However, this noble profession demands immense time, effort, and 
personal resources. 
While the Constitution upholds education as a priority of the State, this principle is not 
fully reflected in the lived realities of many public school teachers. They are left to juggle 
multiple responsibilities. This includes teaching for at least six hours a day, managing 
classrooms, fulfilling administrative tasks, and attending to the academic and emotional needs 
of their students. Many have expressed feeling overworked, under-resourced, and overburdened 
by responsibilities that go far beyond their teaching load. 
It also takes years for them to get promoted to get a higher salary. According to 
EDCOM2, it takes fifteen (15) years to get to Teacher III(Salary Grade 13; P34,421) from Teacher 
1 (Salary Grade 11; P30,024) position. Promotion for teachers is often and typically contingent 
upon the availability of plantilla items, which can only occur when a position becomes vacant 
due to retirement, promotion, or transfer.  
While we laud the national government in removing administrative tasks from the hands 
of public school teachers in the country1, the demands in meeting the daily deliverables hinder 
them from delivering quality education and pursuing their professional development.2, most 
especially when their salaries are not commensurate to their work.  
First-time teachers often find themselves compensating for the lack of instructional 
materials, shouldering out-of-pocket expenses just to ensure a meaningful learning experience for 
1 DepEd Department Order No. 002, s. 2024 https://www.deped.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/DO_s2024_002.pdf 
2 Second Congressional Commission on Education (2024). Miseducation: The failed system of Philippine education, EDCOM II 
Year One Report. Second Congressional Commission on Education. 
August 4, 2025
10:34 am


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their students. Noble as this may be, it is not sustainable. If such burdens persist, many will be 
discouraged from staying in the profession, choosing instead to seek better opportunities abroad. 
Republic Act No. 4670, otherwise known as the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers, 
expressly provides that the national government shall promote and improve the social and 
economic status of public school teachers, including their living and working conditions, terms of 
employment, and career prospects. When teachers are left to absorb classroom expenses, this 
mandate is undermined. 
According to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), an average of 
1,500 teachers leave the country annually between 2013 and 2017, primarily in pursuit of higher 
pay and improved working conditions. This ongoing migration of educators is happening amid a 
worsening learning crisis, with the country currently facing a shortage of over 90,000 teachers. 
The strain on our education system will only deepen unless we take meaningful steps to support 
and retain our teachers, especially those just beginning their journey in the profession. 
In recognizing that education is an essential factor in the economic growth of the nation 
as a productive investment of vital importance, it is high time that we increase the minimum 
salary grade of our teaching personnel and instructors. Their take home pay must be 
commensurate to the labor and effort they put into this noble profession.  
In view of the foregoing, approval of this bill is highly sought. 
HON. JESUS “Jess” R. MARQUEZ


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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
TWENTIETH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
 HOUSE BILL NO. 2893 
Introduced by Representative JESUS R. MARQUEZ 
AN ACT  
UPGRADING THE SALARY GRADE LEVELS OF PUBLIC SCHOOL 
TEACHERS TO SALARY GRADE 15, TEACHING PERSONNEL IN HIGHER 
EDUCATION TO SALARY GRADE 16 , AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS 
THEREFOR 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. Reiteration of Policy. - It is hereby declared the policy of the state to 
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alleviate the living conditions of government employees and to guarantee employees' 
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rights to living wage.  
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The State policies of ensuring that education receives the highest budgetary 
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priority and that teaching will attract and retain its rightful share of the best available 
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talents through adequate remuneration and other means of job satisfaction and 
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fulfillment are hereby reiterated.  
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In the formulation of decisions with regard to education reforms, the State shall 
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likewise hold paramount the protection and promotion of the right of citizens to quality 
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education at all levels and the rights of education workers to human conditions of work 
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and a living wage. 
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SEC 2. Coverage. -This Act shall cover all teaching personnel in all public schools 
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in the elementary and secondary levels, whether nationally or locally funded, including 
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those in technical and vocational schools and state universities and colleges.  
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 SEC 3. Raising the Salary Grade Level of Public School Teachers in Basic 
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Education. - The minimum salary grade of public-school teachers is hereby raised from 
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Salary Grade 11 to Salary Grade 15; Provided, that the salary upgrading shall be 
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differentiated in accordance with the qualifications and length of service rendered by the 
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teachers and shall not be prejudiced by across-the-board adjustments.  
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SEC  4. Raising of the Minimum Salary Grade Level of Higher Education 
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Teaching Personnel. -The minimum salary grade level of teaching personnel or 
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instructors in public universities and colleges is hereby raised from Salary Grade 12 to 
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Salary Grade 16; Provided, that the salary upgrading shall be differentiated in accordance 
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with the qualifications and length of service rendered by the teachers and shall not be 
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prejudiced by across-the-board adjustments.  
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SEC 5. Annual Adjustment of Salaries. -Salaries of public-school teachers shall be 
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adjusted annually to keep pace with the cost of living. The Department of Budget and 
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Management (DBM), in consultation with public sector unions, shall recommend to 
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Congress the appropriation of the necessary funds. 
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 SEC 6. Rules and Regulations. -The Department of Education, the Commission 
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on Higher Education, and the DBM shall promulgate the necessary rules and regulations 
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of the provisions of this Act. 
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SEC  7. Appropriations. - The amount necessary for the initial implementation of 
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this Act shall be taken from the current appropriations. Thereafter, funds needed in 
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subsequent years shall be included in the General Appropriations Act. 
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 SEC 8. Separability Clause. - Should any provision herein be declared 
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unconstitutional, the same shall not affect the validity of the other provisions of this Act 
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SEC 9. Repealing clause. -All laws, executive orders, presidential decrees, rules 
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and regulation or parts thereof inconsistent with any provisions of this Act are hereby 
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repealed, amended, or modified accordingly. 
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SEC 10. Effectivity. -This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication 
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in the official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. 
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Approved,