THE ALLIANCE of Concerned Teachers on Friday called on President Rodrigo Duterte to fulfill his promise to increase the salaries of teachers and employees in public schools and state colleges and universities before the end of his term.

Raymond Basilio, the group’s secretary general, warned that teaching and non-teaching personnel are getting restive as their economic hardships mount.

“President Duterte is running out of time in fulfilling his campaign promise to our education workers. Now is the time to act on upgrading teachers’ salaries so that it can see legislation before his term of office ends, otherwise, his administration is sure to sustain a heavy political backfire,” he said in a statement.

He claimed that the Salary Standardization Law V enacted by the President in 2020, which granted an increase of P1,562 in the monthly basic pay of teachers for four years, did nothing to alleviate the dire situation of education workers.

“The paltry salary increases only reverted to the government in the form of increased income taxes and mandatory contributions to PhilHealth and GSIS. Sa taas ng presyo ng bilihin ngayon at laki ng gastos sa distance learning, abonado pa ang mga guro,” Basilio asserted.

He lamented that the President’s failure to fulfil his promise to teachers underscores the government’s “lack of appreciation” to the sacrifices of education workers.

“Our education workers stake their pocket, life and limb to deliver the basic service of education to millions as learners. They sacrifice the family budget and risk contracting Covid19 just so that learning continues. Nasaan ang pagpapahalaga ng gobyerno sa mga sakripisyong ito?” Basilio asked.

ACT urged President Duterte to immediately certify as urgent the numerous bills filed in the House of Representatives and Senate that seek to upgrade the salaries of  teachers and education personnel.

The group called for a four-level upgrading of teachers salaries: from salary grade 11 to 15 for Teacher I; and from salary grade 12 to 16 for college instructor I. They also sought an increase of the basic pay of non-teaching personnel from P12,034 to P16,000 monthly.