TO SUPPORT the clamor of teachers for a pay increase, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said he will refile his measure adjusting the salary of public school teachers.

The entry level for teachers in public schools is salary grade 11 or P25,439 per month, which is far from the daily cost of living of around P32,600.

“We took a look at the salary averages of teachers in ASEAN and we’re one of the lowest. In fact, we are third to the lowest in terms of salaries being given to our teachers,” Gatchalian said.

Indonesia has the highest rate — P60,000 —which is higher than Singapore.

“I actually filed a bill to improve the entry level of our teachers from salary 11 to salary grade 14, and so on and so forth, to improve the salary grade of the other teacher levels. At the same time, I also filed a bill to add a few more teacher levels so that there will be promotions, for example, Teacher 6, Teacher 7 and Teacher 8  so that  they will be promoted,” the senator said.

“In short, I do agree that we should increase teacher salaries, so we can deter from being third to the last in the ASEAN and so we can at least enter the median level in the ASEAN,” Gatchalian added.