TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 25 JUL -9 P5:21 First Regular Session SENATE NEC. S. No. 335 Introduced by Senator IV Ejercito AN ACT PROVIDING FOR A TEN THOUSAND PESOS (P10,000) ACROSS-THE-BOARD INCREASE IN THE BASIC MONTHLY SALARY OF ALL PUBLIC ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR EXPLANATORY NOTE According to the Department of Education (DepEd), there are 16,005,291 students enrolled in public schools for the school year 2024-2025.1 Millions of Filipino learners are entrusted to our public teachers, the modern heroes guiding these young minds in pursuing their dreams with good principles and character, soon becoming responsible citizens of our nation. Teaching is a demanding job. It requires both professional and practical skill sets with strong physical, mental, and emotional foundations. They are all-rounders. Aside from facilitating classes, they prepare course materials, assess learners, collaborate with parents, and manage non-teaching and other extracurricular activities in schools. 1 Malipot, M. H. (2024, July 26). DepEd: Enrollment for SY 2024-2025 reaches 18 million. Manila Bulletin. https://mb.com.ph/2024/7/26/dep-ed-enrollment-for-sy-2024-2025-reaches-18-million
Despite their well-recognized efforts, teachers receive less than what they deserve. According to Macalisang & Tagapulot (2024), our teachers are subject to financial burdens in providing the needs of their families, made more difficult by the increasing costs of goods and services in the country. Even with the financial difficulties that our public teachers experience, they are still compelled to maximize their personal budget and resources to prepare instruction materials, such as school supplies and visual presentations, to deliver a proper learning experience for their students.2 They had to resort to loans, soon struggling to settle such finances due to low salaries and other financial obligations. In 2019, It was reported that public school teachers have a combined debt of at least P319 billion, of which P157.4 billion is owed to the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and P162 billion to accredited private loan programs. 3 These figures only represent the amount deducted from their salaries, hence the overall amount of debt can still be higher, including loans from unaccredited lenders that require higher interest rates. It would take years for a teacher to settle these loans, and some retired teachers use their pensions to pay these loans, sacrificing their hard-earned retirement benefits. Our teachers are the builders of our nation. They dedicate their everyday lives in honor of imparting knowledge and guiding our learners. This measure, proposing a 10,000-peso across-the-board increase to their basic salary, corresponds to their sincere commitment to honing the skills and character of our learners. 2 Tagapulot, S. A. & Macalisang, D. S. (2024). Financial Challenges Among Public School Teachers: Basis for Proposed Program. Journal of Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 2(7), 494-499. https://doi.org/10.69569/jip.2024.0194 3 Reysio-Cruz, M. (2019, June 10). Public School Teachers' debts rose to P319b in 2 years - DepEd. INQUIRER.net. https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1128387/public-school-teachers-debts-rose-to-p319b-in-2- years-deped
In view of the foregoing, the immediate passage of this measure is earnestly sought. JV EJERCITO
TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES JUL -9 P5:21 First Regular Session REU: SENATE S. No. 335 Introduced by Senator JV Ejercito AN ACT PROVIDING FOR A TEN THOUSAND PESOS (P10,000) ACROSS-THE-BOARD INCREASE IN THE BASIC MONTHLY SALARY OF ALL PUBLIC ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR 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 "Dagdag Suweldo Para
sa mga Guro" Act.
Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy. - It Is the policy of the State to ensure that the
education sector receive the highest budgetary priority. Along this end, the State shall promote and improve the economic status of teachers to attract and retain the best available talents and assist them in providing quality education to their students through adequate renumeration and other means of job satisfaction and fulfillment.
Sec. 3. Increase in the Basic Monthly Salary. - All public elementary and
secondary school teachers, regardless of their length of service, are entitled to an across-the-board increase of Ten Thousand Pesos (P10,000.00) to their basic monthly salary.
Sec. 4. Appropriations. - The amount necessary to implement the provisions of
this Act shall be provided in the General Appropriations Act.
Sec. 5. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - The Department of Budget and
Management (DBM), in consultation with the Department of Education (DepEd) and
1 the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) shall promulgate within ninety (90) days 2 after the effectivity of this Act the necessary rules and regulations for its effective and 3 immediate implementation.
Sec. 6. Repealing Clause - All laws, decrees, executive orders, rules and
5 regulations, which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed, 6 amended or modified accordingly.
Sec. 7. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
8 publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspapers of general circulation. Approved,