Cayetano files Senate Bill providing Additional Support and Compensation for Teachers

By Office of Sen. Alan Peter S. Cayetano
July 9, 2013

PASAY CITY – "Given the fundamental role of our teachers in nation building, it is but reasonable that we help them address their personal concerns brought about by high prices, lack of jobs, and low income."

Senator Alan Cayetano said this as he filed Senate bill No. 94 pushing for additional support and compensation for educators in basic education.

According to the senator, the current salary grade of teachers places them just within the present poverty threshold.

"For educators to adequately equip the youth to be ready to face the challenges of the present world, government should consequently provide them with the support and benefits they need to make ends meet," he said.

“The teaching profession must be at par with that of other professions such as the police and the military in terms of compensation for they are all crucial in creating a society geared towards economic development,” he added stressing that the current entry level for teachers is only Salary Grade (SG) 11 or about P18,549 monthly.

The senator cited the 1991 report by the Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM) stating that their level of compensation is disproportionately low compared to the functional definition of the their profession. EDCOM recommended that the salary grade for teachers should be SG 17, the equivalent of the salary of a 1st Lieutenant in the Philippine Army or about P29,028 a month based on the revised salary standardization law III.

SB No. 94 also known as the Additional Support and Compensation for Educators in Basic Education bill will provide an across the board additional compensation for all basic education teachers. Also, it will give teachers a comprehensive package of additional benefits which includes a medical allowance of at least P1,000.00 that will be given for check-ups and other medical expenses and an annual Magna Carta bonus to answer for the unpaid benefits due to the teachers under Republic Act No. 4670 or the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers Act.

Cayetano, on the first day of the 16th Congress, also filed his version of the Freedom of Information Act, the Orphan Trust Fund Bill, the Special Needs Fund for Children Bill, the Welfare of the Orphaned, Abandoned, and Neglected Children Bill, The Uniformed Personnel Bill, amendments on the Cybercrime Prevention act of 2012, the Decriminalization of Libel and Defamation, and the Iskolar ng Bayan Bill.

The senator emphasized that he will push hard for the majority coalition in the Senate to prioritize such measures in order for Filipino families to feel the benefits of our economic growth. He is also set to file several other measures that will address PTK (Presyo, Trabaho, Kita) in the coming weeks.