About time

Sen. Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara has called on his colleagues to prioritize the passage of Senate Bill (SB) No. 61 that seeks to upgrade the salary grade (SG) level of teachers from SG 11 to 19.

If passed, the bill would double the salary of public school teachers from its current monthly base pay of P18,549 to P33,859. “I urge my colleagues here in the Senate to hear the sentiments of our teachers and immediately act on the pending bills seeking to increase the salaries of public school teachers,” Angara said.

The first-term senator explained the rationale for his bill: “Public school teachers are the heart of the Philippine public school system but they are among the most underpaid workers given their workload and service in the society. They receive a basic salary that does not commensurate to their contribution.”

The public school teachers are asking for a monthly salary of P25,000 from the current rate of more than P18,000. The militant Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) has vowed to lead its members in a mass leave if the government fails to act on their request.

Angara, former Aurora congressman, said once passed, SB 61 would provide financial relief to the 3.2 million deserving public school teachers. “I have authored this measure since my time in the Lower House and I will continue to file this in the Senate as one of my top priority bills. The Constitution guarantees a living wage and they deserve more than what they presently get,” he said. –End-