Pacquiao vows to double salary of public school teachers

Presidential aspirant Manny Pacquiao vowed to double the salary of all government teachers and to improve the welfare of teachers in the private sector to “restore the dignity” of the profession.

Pacquiao said that the living standards of many teachers have “miserably deteriorated” due to lack of support from the government.

“Sobrang napabayaan na ng pamahalaan ang ating mga guro. Noong araw, ang pagiging guro ay isang position of dignity and respect pero parang nawawala na ito dahil napakarami sa ating mga guro ang naghihikahos kaya napipipilitan na pumasok sa mga sitwasyon na nakakawala ng dignidad,” Pacquiao said.

While he acknowledged President Rodrigo Duterte’s initiative to increase the salaries of the uniformed personnel, Pacquiao said it is equally important for the government  to focus on the welfare of the teachers and the healthcare workers.

“It is time for the new President to resolve this injustice in their working conditions,” he said.

Pacquiao also vowed to stop allocating hefty budgets for intelligence and discretionary funds and realign them for the salary increase of the teachers and health care workers.

Pacquiao also said teachers should be given with all the gadgets they need to complement his “one gadget, one student” proposal.