THE ALLIANCE of Concerned Teachers called on Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., chairman of the Senate Committee on Civil Service, Government Reorganization and Professional Regulation, to act on pending bills that seek salary increases for government employees.

Senate Bill 2002 or the proposed “Across-the-board Wage Increase Act” aims to increase the minimum wage in the private sector by P150.

The group said that the government should not overlook the salaries of public sector employees who make up the nation’s workforce.

“We appeal to Sen. Revilla, Jr. to prioritize the salary hike bills for government employees, especially as he himself has filed a Senate bill seeking to upgrade teachers’ entry-level salary from the current Grade 11 to 15,” Vladimer Quetua, the group’s chairman, said.

“Sa pag-aaral ng ACT sa DBM Staffing Summary for 2022, 76 percent ng populasyon ng kawaning publiko o yaong mga nasa salary grade 1-13 ang kapos ang sweldo sa kasalukuyang family living wage na P34,350 kada buwan ang sweldo. Sa hanay naman ng mga guro, 93.3 percent na binubuo ng Teacher I hanggang Teacher III, batay sa datos ng DepEd noong 2019, ang hindi nakabubuhay ang sweldo,” he added.

The group said lawmakers and the government must address the country’s education crisis and see the critical correlation between teachers’ living conditions and quality of education.

“For us to foster an educational system that truly empowers the younger generation, the government must start with uplifting the lives of the key actors of education recovery—the teachers,” Quetua said.