DepEd to push for additional benefits for teachers

The Department of Education (DepEd) will push for "additional benefits" for teachers before Congress, amid a pending bill filed by the Makabayan bloc seeking to increase teachers' monthly salary to P50,000.

- ELIZABETH MARCELO

"As a matter of fact, even prior to the bill being filed, DepEd had already engaged the World Bank to provide a study, not only on whether an increase should be made, but also on the ideal percentage of increases for the coming years vis-a-vis inflation rates," DepEd spokesperson and Undersecretary Michael Poa said.

The three-member Makabayan bloc at the House of Representatives on Feb. 13 filed a bill that would nearly double the entry-level salary of public school teachers nationwide, from the current P27,000 to P50,000 monthly.

Party-list Reps. France Castro of Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), Arlene Brosas of Gabriela and Raoul Manuel of Kabataan, who authored and filed House Bill 9920, said the proposed bill aims to "close the gap between their salaries and the cost of living."