Sorat
Sent
FIFTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE ) Hur oft t
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES )
Second Regular Session

SENATE

s.B.No._ 3008

Introduced by SENATOR MANNY VILLAR

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The bill aims to upgrade the minimum salary grade level of public school teachers in
the elementary and secondary schools from Salary Grade 11 to Salary Grade 15 in order to
motivate and maintain highly qualified teachers in the country.

As stated in Article XIV, Sec. 5.5 of the 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.” In addition, R.A. No. 4670 otherwise known
as the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers mandates the following criteria for salaries
of public school teachers:

1) “They shall compare favorably with those paid in other occupations requiring
equivalent or similar qualifications, training and abilities” (Sec. 15a)

2) “They shall be such as to insure teachers a reasonable standard of life for
themselves and their families” (Sec. 15b).

The current pay scheme of government fails to fulfill these criteria. Salaries of public
school teachers do not compare favorably with other occupations in government. A duly
licensed professional teacher occupying the entry-level position of Teacher |, with a monthly
salary of P15, 649, earns substantially less than a high school graduate who enters the
Philippine Military Academy as a cadet, with a monthly salary of P21, 709 per month.
Neither does teachers’ pay compare favorably with those employed as call center agents in
the private sector. The salary for call center employment, which requires neither formal
education nor bachelor's degree, ranges from P12, 500 to P20, 000 a month.

Public school teachers’ salaries are currently unable to “insure a reasonable
standard of life for themselves and their families.” According to the Alliance of Concerned
Teachers, the family living wage in the National Capital Region, estimated at P957 per day
or more than P21, 054 per month, is in sharp contrast with the P15, 649 monthly salary of a
Teacher |. In order to cope with this “living salary gap,” teachers resort to borrowing and are
heavily indebted to government financial institutions such as the GSIS, private lending
institutions, or loan sharks.

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This situation has obviously pushed some of our best teachers out of the country, to
seek better pay and working conditions overseas. There is a huge gap in salary levels of
teachers in the country compared with those abroad. For example, Filipino teachers who
choose to practice their profession in the United States receive annual salaries ranging from
P1.5 to P2.1M. Meanwhile, an entry-level Teacher | receives P203, 437 annually. Sadly,
due to the low pay, many of our teachers migrate to work not as teachers but as domestic
helpers, nannies, or caregivers.

The effort of the government to upgrade the educational system cannot succeed for
as long as teachers are taken for granted. Facilities and equipment are as good as the
people who manage and operate them. Teachers in dire conditions can never be expected
to tum in good quality students and future leaders of our land.

For the above-cited reasons, immediate approval of this bill is earnestly urged.

MANNY VILLAR,


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3tlce of the Srvretary

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE )
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES )
Second Regular Session ) “1 NOV ID P4 03

SENATE

s.B.No._ 3008

Introduced by SENATOR MANNY VILLAR

AN ACT
IMPROVING THE PLIGHT OF FILIPINO PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS BY
UPGRADING THEIR MINIMUM SALARY FROM SALARY GRADE 11 TO 15

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

SECTION 1. Short Title. This Act shall be known as “The Public School
Teachers’ Salary Upgrading Act”.

SECTION 2. Recognition of Policy. The policy of the State “to ensure that
education receives the highest priority in governance, 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’ is hereby recognized in earnest and of
utmost significance.

SECTION 3. Raising of the Minimum Salary Grade Level. The present minimum
salary grade level of public schoo! teachers in the elementary and secondary schools shall
be upgraded from Salary Grade 11 to Salary Grade 15. Salary grade levels of those
occupying higher positions shall be adjusted accordingly.

SECTION 4. Coverage. This Act shall cover all public school teachers in the
elementary and secondary level, whether nationally or locally funded, including those in
technical and vocational schools and state universities and colleges.

SECTION 5. Priority in Budget Allocation. The Government shall appropriate such
amount as may be necessary to carry out the objectives of this Act. Provided, that the


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salary increase of public school teachers shall take priority over non-educational and non-
agricultural budgetary allocations.

SECTION 6. Rules and Regulations. The Department of Education and the
Department of Budget and Management shall promulgate the necessary rules and
regulations of the provisions of this Act.

SECTION 7. Appropriation. The initial funding required for the implementation of
this Act shall be sourced from the savings of the Executive Branch of the government and
other possible sources that may be determined by the Office of the President, and
subsequent funds needed shall be included in the General Appropriations Act for the year
following the implementation of this Act.

SECTION 8. Separability Clause. Should any provision herein be declared
unconstitutional, the same shall not affect the validity of the other provisions of this Act.

SECTION 9. Repealing Clause. All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations or
other issuances or parts inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed.

SECTION 10. Effectivity. This Act shall take effect immediately after its publication
in the Official Gazette or in any newspaper of general circulation in the Philippines.

Approved.