Tell it to SunStar: Teachers’ petition for salary hike

WE RECENTLY submitted to the Philippine Senate a petition for salary increase, a petition that garnered around 25,000 signatures.

The clamor for a substantial pay hike remains to be loud and strong, as evidenced by the thousands of education workers as well as parents and other supporters from 17 regions who signed the petition.

The strongest justification of its urgency is the still-at-peak Philippine inflation.

The Upper House is currently deliberating on the 2019 National Expenditure Program and we are pushing for legislators to take into account the demands of teachers and education workers for immediate economic relief and better standard of living.

The government claims to prioritize social services, but the budget proposal released by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) tells a different story.

The shift from an obligation-based to cash-based setup resulted in a 6.4 percent decrease in the actual amount of the budget allocation for the education sector, which is contrary to the Department of Budget and Management’s claim that it increased by 12 percent.

We urge the senators not only to heed our demands but to do what is constitutionally mandated of them based on Section 5, Article 5 of the 1987 Constitution, which states that:

“The State shall assign the highest budgetary priority to education and ensure that teaching will attract and retain its rightful share of the best available talents through adequate remuneration and other means of job satisfaction and fulfillment.”

We are exhausting all possible means to advance our calls, which is why teachers will also go on a sit-down strike on Nov. 29 to show the government that we are united and resolute in our demand for decent salaries.

The protests, which could take on various forms, will continue as long as education workers suffer and the education system crumbles. We will carry on the fight.

We are calling for a P30,000 salary for Teacher I; P31,000 for Instructor I; and P16,000 minimum pay for all government workers.

We are also demanding a P3,000 increase in the Personnel Economic Relief Allowance (Pera) in light of the erosion of the values of salaries due to the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (Train)-induced inflation.--Joselyn Martinez, Alliance of Concerned Teachers

River summit

Thank you for the editorial about The lnternational River Summit. Let’s clean up our rivers.

In my mind, overpopulation is largely the cause of our planet’s ills, including river pollution. We have a president, Rodrigo Duterte, who is certainly a man of action. If anyone could solve the country’s overpopulation situation, it would be him. --Tim Garrison