Palace confident DepEd could address teachers’ grievances

Press conference of Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) saying that a mass leave of teachers is imminent if their demand for salary increase is not included in the budget of next year. INQUIRER PHOTO/RAFFY LERMA

MANILA, Philippines—Malacañang on Saturday expressed confidence the Department of Education would continue to work with public school teachers to address grievances that the educators may raise.

In an interview with state-run radio station DZRB, Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said the government continues to engage with public school teachers who warned of a mass leave if their salaries are not increased.

“We continue to further our engagements with our teachers who may have grievances,” Valte said. “I am confident that the DepEd would continue to talk to our public school teachers about their concerns.”

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) announced on Friday that they would go on a nationwide mass leave to demand “a decent and humane pay.”

Public school teachers in the Philippines receive P18,549 to P25,000 a month for their service and the group has been wanting an increase since June 2014, the start of regular classes.

Valte said that if the teachers would push through with the mass leave, they should also bear in mind the students who would be directly affected by their protest action.

“If they decide to push through with their mass leave, I guess we can talk things over regarding the well-being of the students who rely on the teachers for their education,” Valte said.

In the grounds of a salary increase, Valte said that it’s up to the legislators to work on it as other groups also demand an increase in their wages.