The Department of Education (DepEd) is seeking advice from third-party consultants regarding proper salary adjustments for teachers, DepEd Undersecretary Michael Wesley Poa said in a press briefing on Tuesday, July 11. "DepEd alone cannot really just unilaterally change or increase the salaries. This year po nakatanggap ng karagdagang increase yung ating mga guro (This year, our teachers received an additional increase)," he said, pointing out that teachers' salaries are under the government's salary standardization law. "Pero on the part of DepEd we are also procuring the services of third-party experts to help us determine kung akma ba talaga yung sahod ng guro sa ngayon without comparing them sa other industries (if the current teacher's salary is really appropriate without comparing them to other industries)," he added. DepEd t also aims to determine whether teachers need additional wage increases in the next few years, taking inflation into consideration. "So once the study is with us, we will at least have evidence based on comments kung dapat ba nating itaas ang salary (if we should raise the salary)," Poa stated. DepEd is also continually advocating for more benefits for teachers, such as health insurance and free legal aid.

Call for a salary increase

Earlier this year, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines urged the government to implement a "significant salary hike" for teachers in response to inflation. "We are practically at the end of our rope, a significant salary increase should be the government’s top agenda as the year opens," said ACT Chairperson Vladimer Quetua, citing the 8.1 percent inflation rate in December 2022. He added that the "measly salary hike installments" over the past four years have failed to address the problems arising from the increasing prices of basic necessities. Quetua explained that public school teachers in Teacher I, II, and III positions will only receive a net take-home pay of P23,000 to P27,000 this year. They make up 92 percent of DepEd's overall teaching force. This amount is a "far cry" from the P33,000 standard family living wage, based on the government's data, he added. "With the global and local economic crises seen to continually worsen, its effects on our family’s well-being and to our work is sure to be unbearable,"  Quetua said