Teachers’ group slams DepEd’s P1,000 incentive, calls it ‘pure PR stunt’

MANILA, Philippines — The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) said that the Department of Education (DepEd)’s P1,000 World Teachers’ Day incentive benefit was just a public relations (PR) stunt.

“This is no news, there is no need for this announcement. For our public school teachers who have long been calling for salary increase and more substantial benefits amid the grueling distance learning, this announcement sounds desperate and pathetic,” ACT Secretary-General Raymond Basilio said in a statement on Wednesday.

READ: Teachers to receive P1,000 on World Teacher’s Day

ACT explained that the yearly incentive is a regular benefit that public school teachers have been getting since 2018, and is funded under the 2021 General Appropriations Act.

The group also claimed that President Rodrigo Duterte initially failed to include the benefit under the proposed 2021 expenditure and was then incorporated following teachers’ demand.

Basilio shared that the P1,000 benefit is the Duterte administration’s response to teachers’ call for salary hike in 2018.

Moreover, Basilio stressed that teachers are waiting for compensation for their three-month overtime work in the previous school year and significant salary increases.

“This petty announcement of an incentive in a pitiful amount means nothing to teachers, what we need is P1,500 monthly internet allowance, payment of our overtime pay, and salary levels commensurate to our arduous duty,” Basilio said.

RELATED STORIES:

Enrollment in public schools starts Aug. 16

DepEd to hold first-ever online Nat’l Schools Press Conference 2021

je