MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Sherwin "Win" Gatchalian is pushing again for higher salaries for public school teachers who are starting out, saying that an entry-level educator must receive over P30,000, up by around P6,800, in a bid to encourage more people to join the teaching force.
Gatchalian, who is running for a second term, proposed to raise the salary grade of a Teacher I to Salary Grades 13 or 14 (P29,798 or P32,321) from Salary Grade 11 (P25,439).
"We want to raise the morale of our teachers and encourage more students to take up education courses," the lawmaker, who chairs his chamber's basic education, arts and culture committee, said in a statement posted on the Senate website on Tuesday.
If a Teacher I's salary grade is raised to Salary Grade 13 under the third tranche of the Salary Standardization Law V, the country will need to pour in P58.6 billion on top of the P379.6 billion of annual compensation for Teachers I, II and III, based on estimates from the senator's office.
Meanwhile, if a Teacher I's salary grade is raised to Salary Grade 14 under the current tranche, the country will need to allot P92.1 billion more for Teachers I, II and III on top of their yearly compensation.
Gatchalian said the entry-level pay for teachers in the Philippines is lower compared to what educators are getting in other ASEAN countries, with Indonesian teachers getting P66,099 and Singaporean teachers receiving P60,419.
This isn't the first time he advocated for higher pay for the sector. In 2019, Gatchalian filed a bill seeking to adjust the salary of public school teachers to up to P30,000.
Gatchalian co-authored and co-sponsored the bill that eventually became the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act. The law sought to exempt all eligible Filipino students pursuing their first undergraduate or certificate degrees in state universities and colleges from paying tuition and other school fees.
Education remains a key platform in his campaign for reeelection.
Last week, he appeared in the "Uniteam" proclamation rally and endorsed the late dictator's son Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr. for president and running mate Davao Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio as vice president.