Grade school teachers Cheryl Masmela and Gemma Relles prepare a classroom for the school opening at the Baseco Elementary School in Manila in 2014, when COVID-19 was still an unfamiliar word. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / RAFFY LERMA
Update
MANILA, Philippines — The Senate on Monday approved on third and final reading a bill that would institutionalize the staggered increase of teaching supplies allowance of public school teachers to up to P10,000 in the next four years.
With 22 affirmative votes and no negative votes, senators approved Senate Bill No. 1094 during the plenary session.
For the current school year, the allowance to be given to each public school teacher is P3,500.
Under the bill, teaching supplies allowance will be increased to P5,000 per teacher for the school year 2021-2022; P7,500 for school years 2022-2023 and 2023-2024; and P10,000 for the school year 2024-2025.
Senator Sonny Angara, chair of the Senate finance committee, said funding for the P1,500 increase for next year is already included in the proposed 2021 national budget even if the bill’s counterpart measure in the House of Representatives has yet to be passed.
The education secretary is mandated under the bill to conduct a periodic review of the teaching supplies allowance “taking into account the current prices of teaching supplies and materials, and, if warranted, recommend the necessary increase in the amount of the allowance.”
This spread-out increase of the teaching allowance was previously agreed upon by senators so that the state’s coffers could “bear” the additional cost.
The teaching allowance would be exempted from income tax, according to the measure.
If enacted, the grant of the increased cash allowance would “cover teachers who are engaged in teaching public basic education, consistent with the learning modalities recognized by the Department of Education.”
Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., the bill’s sponsor, thanked his colleagues for their support of the measure.
“This measure recognizes the hardships, sacrifices and invaluable contributions of our teachers to our society… we are a step closer to realizing a better working environment for our teachers,” Revilla said.
“However, fully cognizant of the tremendous demands of this profession, we still have a lot of things that need to be done to uplift and improve the welfare of our teachers. Indeed, many problems and challenges remain,” he added.