THE Alliance of Concerned teachers (ACT) urged the government to prioritize the education sector in the General Appropriations Act (GAA) 2019 by including their demand of substantial salary increase.
During a press conference last Friday, January 25, ACT Davao region president Elenito Escalante told reporters that they want to raise the salary of Teacher I to P30,000 from the current pay of P20,000.
He also said that Instructor I should get at least P31,000 wage and P16,000 for salary grade 1 employees. Also, the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (Train) law prompted their demand for wage increase.
“Kung makita nato, binilyon man gani ang na-plunder nga napasakahan og kaso, so asa gikan ang kwarta? Naay enough na kwarta ang kagamhanan, so nganong dili mahatagan sa increase? (If we look at it, billions have been plundered so where did the money come from? The government has enough money so why can't they include our increase in the budget?),” Escalante said.
Meanwhile, ACT Davao region member Marydel Enanoria said that despite the load of work, the government still never prioritized the teachers.
“Ang ilang rason lang sa amo is kayo DepEd, ang dami ninyo. Ang hirap ninyo budget-an kasi it will take millions para sa mga benefits namin,” Enanoria said.
“Nakita ko ang pahihirap ng teachers not only sa salary but ‘yung benefits talaga,” she added.
Meanwhile, Escalante called on the government to answer their demand for wage increase and address issues concerning the teachers not only in the city but the country as every teacher is going through the same struggle.
“Naa ang challenge karon sa gobyerno kay ang teachers nagalantaw lang na sa kinatibok-an nga iyang mahatag ang best sa iyang estudyante (The challenge now is on the government because the teachers solely look on what he or she can do best for the students),” he said. (LHC)