After stalling in 19th Congress, House revives bill seeking P50K salary for public school teachers

MANILA, Philippines — How much should public school teachers in basic education be earning at a minimum? Some House lawmakers believe it should be P50,000 a month.

Kicking off the 20th Congress, Rep. Antonio Tinio (ACT Teachers Party-list) and Rep. Renee Co (Kabataan Party-list) introduced House Bill 203, seeking to raise the minimum monthly pay of public school teachers, from kindergarten to senior high school, to P50,000.

The lawmakers said the P50,000 proposal is about the same as Salary Grade 15 under the amended Salary Standardization Law. But the bill makes it clear that teachers should get whichever is higher — P50,000 or the standard Salary Grade 15 rate.

In the bill’s explanatory note, Tinio and Co argued that the adjusted 2024 salary rates remain insufficient for public school teachers to “afford decent lives for themselves and their families.”

“These latest adjustments by no means addressed the disparity between the salaries of those in the low- and middle-level salary grades — who comprise majority of the civil service – and those in the managerial levels and especially of top officials,” the bill read. 

How much are they paid in 2025?

Under the amended salary rates, a Teacher I position in public schools falls under Salary Grade 11, which corresponds to a monthly salary of P30,024 at Step 1 in 2025. 

Meanwhile, the Teacher II and Teacher III positions receive a Salary Grade 12 and 13, respectively, which amount to P32,245 to P34,421.

Tinio and Co pointed out that based on IBON Foundation’s figures, a family needs over P1,200 a day to live decently. But if you break down a Teacher I’s monthly salary over 30 days, it comes out to only around P1,000 per day, which they said is far from enough.

“For mid-level personnel like teachers, income taxes further reduce their take-home pay, as their salaries go past the P250,000-cap for exempt incomes,” the explanatory note read. 

Given the current pay rates, the lawmakers said it’s no surprise that many teachers choose to work abroad, where they can earn three to eight times more than the entry-level salary in the Philippines despite the risks and challenges.

Similar bills in 19th Congress

The proposed measure aligns with House Bill 9920 filed by Makabayan bloc lawmakers in February 2024 during the 19th Congress, which also called for a P50,000 minimum salary for teachers.

It also mirrors an earlier version — House Bill 203 of the same Congress — also proposed by Makabayan bloc, which sought to raise salary levels for educators and school staff across three categories:

• Public school teachers in basic education: from Salary Grade 11 to Salary Grade 15
• Public teaching personnel in higher education (college): to Salary Grade 16, which is around 
• Regular non-teaching staff in public elementary and high schools: to a minimum monthly salary of P16,000 

Tinio and Co’s bill primarily seeks to increase only that of basic education teachers in public schools. They, however, also plan on filing a separate bill for teaching personnel in higher education. 

Should the measure pass, salaries for teachers in higher positions would also need to be adjusted accordingly to maintain the proper compensation structure.

The bill specifically mandates the Department of Education (DepEd), the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to consult with unions and organizations of public school teachers in drafting the implementing rules and regulations for salary adjustments and increases.

Tinio and Co said the proposed hike could help over 803,000 teachers, specifically those in Teacher I to III positions, based on DBM and DepEd’s 2022 figures.

What went before

Despite multiple proposals in the 19th Congress to raise the pay of public school teachers, none made it past the committee level. According to the House of Representatives' website, the proposed bills were only referred to stakeholders. 

Among them was a proposal by Nueva Ecija 1st District Rep. Mikaela Suansing, who sought an even higher pay hike than Salary Grade 15. 

Her bill proposed upgrading teachers' entry-level salary to Salary Grade 19, equivalent to around P56,000 under the current pay scale.

Instead of raising teachers’ salaries, Congress passed the “Kabalikat sa Pagtuturo Act," or Republic Act 11997, in May 2024. The law provides public school teachers with a P5,000 allowance for School Year 2024-2025, while P10,000 starting School Year 2025-2026 to cover classroom needs and other incidental expenses.