Last Monday, Cebu City First District Rep. Raul Del Mar filed a bill that aims to upgrade the salaries of both elementary and secondary public school teachers.
From eleven thousand to twenty thousand pesos, Del Mar pushed to raise it to at least thirty-six thousand pesos per month. During his previous term, he filed the same bill under House Bill number 365.
The bill will urge the government to provide the necessary fund for the salary increase. Moreover, the Department of Education (DepEd) will be required to come up with a specific budget needed to cover the expenses for the salary increase. The Education Department shall work with the Department of Budget Management (DBM) to disseminate the fundamental rules and regulations to apply the provisions included in the bill.
According to the lawmaker, educators must be prioritized by the government for they are the primary movers of the country’s educational system. Del Mar’s effort is in consonance with Article XIV, Section 5[5] of the Philippine Constitution which states that the government should allocate the highest budget to education.
President Duterte promised to provide public school teachers an additional increase of P10,000.00.
