When I was appointed as a public-school teacher in July 1969, my starting gross pay was P234 per month, hence, our batch was called “Batch 234.” Back then, the amount was enough for a small family living in the province to survive since we did not pay any monthly rental, vegetables grew in abundance in one’s backyard, if not in one’s neighbors’, poultry, goats and hogs were raised domestically, and nearby creeks and rivers teemed with fishes that were easily trapped by our lambat or pante.
Transportation was not a concern since the schools, church, market, playgrounds and the municipio were all within walking distance. Owning a motorcycle then was a status symbol. There were no malls and department stores and, practically, all our basic needs were supplied by the small grocery store, which incidentally cashed our treasury warrants covering the teacher’s monthly pay, net of the grocery purchases we needed for the month. It was a simple and uncomplicated life. Those halcyon days were peaceful, sans African swine fever, and drug-free.
Teaching then was a position looked up to in the community and well-respected by the townspeople. Being a teacher was a title that could give you a seat at the head table in a banquet opposite the Kapitan del Barrio. During my time, P234 could deliver you perks and take you to places. Today’s teacher is totally unrecognizable from her progenitor. Her social standing has definitely suffered and teaching has become a less attractive profession. Oftentimes, we hear parents encouraging their children to take up a teaching degree when they size up early that their children won’t qualify for a more glamorous or rewarding career. Teaching will provide a steady income no matter what, though meager even to an unambitious individual. I strongly disagree with that, and as a former teacher I am proud to say that teaching is still the noblest profession suitable to idealistic and intellectually gifted person. We need the best and the brightest teachers if we want to produce outstanding men and women who will take over the mantle of leadership in business and government. We cannot compromise the teachers’ role and contributions to the development and welfare of our youth. As immortalized in our favorite poem, we hail her great deed and appreciate the fact that:
“A teacher built a temple
With loving and infinite care,
Planning each arch with patience,
Laying each stone with prayer…
And the temple the teacher fashioned
Will last while the ages roll,
For that beautiful, unseen temple
Was a child’s immortal soul.”
But how can they keep doing this if our present crop of teachers are dissatisfied and disillusioned lots?
I’m glad that President Duterte has signed the salary standardization law of 2019 on January 8, 2020, which will increase the pay of over 1.4 million government employees. The increment will be released in four tranches starting this year until 2023. This will benefit the public-school teachers, which constitute the largest component of our civil service. Under the SSL 5, public-school teachers who occupy Salary Grade 11, and currently earning P20,751 monthly pay will be receiving P27,000 in 2023, after getting annual salary adjustments for the next four years. I’m aware that this move has drawn mixed reactions from our public-school teachers who were unhappy that the staggered increase was much lower than what they were demanding. The teachers had been clamoring for a P10,000 across-the-board hike to bring their starting pay at par with those in the uniformed service. Compared to the salary hike given to the policemen and soldiers, which was granted in one lump sum, the teachers felt that their increase is too little and too late. Congress, however, justified it by claiming that it did its best to provide the teachers a new round of pay hike despite the limited funds available. The total increase of P6,000, more or less, was prudently staggered in four tranches so that the national budget can afford it. Moreover, the teachers’ salaries are not only the government’s top priority. Even the Department of Education had admitted that any salary increase for teachers would entail huge appropriations. DepEd Undersecretary Annalyn Sevilla stressed that “a mere P10,000 increase for teachers alone would already cost the government around P140 billion to P150 billion annually.” Thus, any salary hike for teachers should be “equitable, within means, and sustainable.” Even Secretary Leonor Magtolis-Briones, who knows her numbers, had underscored in the past that doubling the salaries of the single-largest block in our government bureaucracy would drain the government coffers. However, the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition reminded the President of his campaign promise to increase the teachers’ salaries by P10,000 a month to keep their pay on a par with the other government functionaries. The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) has urged Duterte to honor his campaign pledge. There is strength in numbers but obviously this militates against their best interest. The President had doubled the entry-level pay of policemen and the military to P29,668 as early as 2018. Under the recently approved SSL 5, the nurses pay would get a hefty increase to a minimum monthly salary of P32,053.
But who does not make promises during elections? I’m sure Duterte remembers them for his own mother lived and died as a teacher. And he shares Robert Frost’s dilemma, and keeps them in his mind:
“The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.”
Duterte has more than two years remaining in office. It’s a tall order but knowing him, I’m certain he will leave no stone unturned to augment the teachers’ benefits and restore their dignity and honor.