To receive is to believe. This is the motto of our teachers at present when asked about the promises of salary increase. It is painful for teachers to have believed the promises of the former politicians about giving them the long-forgotten salary increase. These politicians will promise during elections but all their promises will go to waste after they sat down their spots in the government. This is truly heartbreaking for the teachers because as the years passed, they expect and expect. To be exact, these promises of salary increase are long overdue.

There is only one thing certain for teachers this coming election: they won’t allow fake promises anymore. They won’t allow themselves to be fooled again by these promise-making politicians. It is too sad for these teachers to always expect but get nothing. Definitely, it is the only way these politicians can win, to make promises. After the win, they forgot their promises of salary increase. So, for teachers, it is best to use their brains and not believe the traps and fake promises.

Walk the talk and do your job as the highest authority. When you say you will give teachers what is long overdue, you must make sure to do it. How many decades has it been that this request for a salary increase is submitted yet not heard? Literally, teachers needed a one-shot full salary increase and not a staggered one. Giving them a staggered basis salary increase is like fooling them with their own sweats. Staggered salary increases are like cheating the teachers when we all really know that after one tranche, the amount of taxes and other deductions gets high as well. Nonsense and useless tranche-by-tranche increases when teachers cannot even feel the bulk of the increase. Adding up to the problem is the increase in all the basic necessities when the salary remains the same. It is like robbing the Filipino people indirectly.

When the time comes that a certain leader can finally make a stand for this one-time increase, for sure that leader/politician will stay in the service for long and for good. With all of the hard work he/she can make, the support of all the Filipino teachers will most likely be strong. They should always remember that teachers are the biggest group in the community. These teachers only needed this one-time increase before they all don’t like their own country. To note, recently teachers are resigning from their positions to go abroad to work with enough remuneration. If the government will not do anything about it, we just don’t know where to find these cultured teachers again. – Avril | Helpline PH