THE Teachers’ Dignity Coalition slammed the Department of Budget and Management for its snailed-paced study on the salary increase for teachers.

“Kapag para sa kapakinabangan ng mga guro, napakabagal magdesisyon ang gobyerno,” Benjo Basas, national chairperson of TDC, said.

Basas is reacting to the latest announcement from the DBM stating that the scheme for salary increases for civil servants is still under study and will be out within the first half of the year.

The teachers, despite knowing that the increase would be very little, are anticipating it this year, citing the agency’s public pronouncements last year and those confirmed by the officials during the dialogue with DBM and TDC leaders in October 2023. The DBM hinted at a budgetary allocation of more than P16 billion for government employees, including teachers. According to the meeting, the increase, which amounts to 2–8 percent of the current salaries, will take effect within the first to second quarter of 2024.

“Mailap ang umento sa aming suweldo at kung magkaroon man, sobrang liit at lagi pang delayed. Ito po ay sumasalamin lamang sa pagtrato ng gobyerno sa ating mga guro, maliit, mababa at hindi prayoridad,” Basas said.

On March 25, 2024, the TDC wrote a letter to DBM Secretary Amenah Pangandaman asking for a status update on the said salary increase, stressing the veracity of the increase, the amount, and the timeline. The DBM, through Undersecretary Goddes Hope Libiran on April 15, 2024, responded in an open-ended statement, “The Department of Budget and Management and the Governance Commission for GOCCs are currently collaborating on the engagement of a consulting firm to conduct a Compensation and Benefits Study in the Public Sector, with the end in view of setting a competitive, financially sustainable, and equitable compensation package for government personnel, including that of teachers.”

Basas noted that the study may have started as early as 2022 because, in many instances, even Department of Education officials referred to it during previous dialogues. The DBM also stated that, pending the outcome of such a study, the agency is yet to determine the rate of increase and its impact on the salaries of government employees, including teachers.

“Hindi namin alam kung saan nahihirapan ang mga eksperto at ekonomistang kinuha ng DBM para pag-aralan ang kalagayan ng mga guro at kawani. Eh simple lang naman ang mga salik sa pagbibigay ng sahod—ang trabahong ginagampanan ng bawat kawani at ang kalagayang pang-ekonomiko. Tumbasan ang halaga ng kanilang gawain at tiyakin na mabubuhay sila at ang kanilang pamilya nang may dignidad. Huwag naman laging idahilan ang kawalan ng kapasidad ng gobyerno dahil maraming gugulin na hindi naman mahalaga ang pinopondohan nila taon-taon,” Basas explained.

The TDC has been calling for the upgrade of teachers’ entry-level salaries to at least salary grade 15, or to enact the long-demanded P10,000 across-the-board increase. The group argued that the existing salary scheme, the Salary Standardization Law, since 1989 has failed to substantially compensate public mentors, especially those in lower positions. The said law places teachers at salary grade 11, the lowest among government professionals. The SSL’s latest version is the SSL V (RA 11466), enacted during President Rodrigo Duterte’s time.

Basas recounted instances where even President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., during his senatorial tenure, championed salary upgrades for teachers in the 15th and 16th Congresses. He calls on the president, as well as Vice President and DepEd Secretary Sara Duterte, to honor these commitments and leverage their current influence to enact significant salary increases.

“Kung seryoso si Presidente Bongbong Marcos sa kanyang mga bill noong senador pa siya, aba’y ito na ang pagkakataon sa kanya para tuparin. Nasa kanya ang lahat ng impluwensiya sa gobyerno-mula DepEd hanggang Kongreso. Sabi nga sa jingle nila noon ng UniTeam, ‘may prinsipyo, may isang salita.’ Ngayon nila mas dapat patunayan na kaya nilang tumupad sa pangako,” Basas said.

While the TDC is supportive of the many versions of the salary increase proposal in Congress, specifically the ones that seek to raise the entry-level position of the teachers to salary grade 15 or the provision of P10,000 in additional compensation, the group is currently working with some legislators to draft bills for a teachers’ compensation package that emphasize aligning teachers’ salaries with the standards outlined in the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers (RA 4670) rather than the SSL.