DepEd ‘No Comment’ on Proposed P50k Minimum Salary for Entry-Level Teachers

The Department of Education (DepEd) has decided to wait for the World Bank’s opinion before taking a stance on the proposed salary increase for public school teachers. This was announced by DepEd Undersecretary Michael Poa on Thursday, a few days after the Makabayan bloc introduced House Bill 9920, which aims to set the minimum salary for teachers at PHP 50,000.

“We cannot comment on the amount because we are still waiting for the study from the World Bank,” Poa stated in a message to reporters today.

He mentioned that the Department expects preliminary results from the World Bank in a few weeks. The international financial institution has requested additional data from the DepEd, which is currently being processed.

This initiative comes after reports by the Philippine News Agency that the World Bank is analyzing the salaries of teachers in the Philippines. The findings will eventually be shared with the office of Vice President Sara Duterte, who also serves as the Secretary of the DepEd.

House Bill 9920, submitted by the ACT Teachers party-list, Kabataan party-list, and Gabriela Women’s party, seeks to ensure that Filipino teachers are adequately compensated. Currently, some mid-level personnel, such as public school teachers, are at Salary Grade 11, which corresponds to a monthly wage of PHP 22,316 to PHP 24,391, according to the Salary Standardization Law.

This rate is below the PHP 25,946 per month family living wage (FLW) needed for families living in Metro Manila, based on estimates by the IBON Foundation.

The proposal to increase the minimum salary for teachers is under discussion at the same time as talks about a PHP 100 daily wage hike for private sector workers are ongoing. The aim of HB 9920 and these discussions is to ensure that teachers in the Philippines can earn a salary that truly reflects the cost of living and the valuable work they do.