MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has signed a law increasing teaching supply allowances (TSA) to reduce teachers’ out-of-pocket expenses.
During a program on Monday, Marcos signed the Kabalikat sa Pagtuturo Act before members of the Senate and the House of Representatives who crafted and pushed for the measure.
According to Marcos, the law is an integral part of the Matatag curriculum because it allows teachers to focus on teaching without worrying about possibly reduced income.
“Today, thanks to the hard work of our legislators, we get to receive the much-needed assistance for the Matatag agenda, and the fourth component of that, that is to give support to teachers so they can concentrate on teaching,” Marcos said.
“I think we are all familiar with the situation where, when a teacher finds themselves in financial straits, they are sometimes distracted and spend their time trying to increase the support they can provide their families,” he added.
Last Friday, Minority lawmaker and ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro, the bill’s principal author, said she was invited to the ceremonial signing of the proposal at Malacañang.
Castro, in a statement, said the Kabalikat sa Pagtuturo Act will ensure that teachers get an allowance to buy materials like chalk, paper, and other items that may be used for teaching purposes instead of resorting to out-of-pocket expenses.
“This is a long-overdue recognition of the crucial role our teachers play in shaping the minds of our future generations,” Castro said.
“With the signing of the TSA Act, our hardworking teachers will finally have the necessary funds to purchase the teaching tools they need to deliver quality education to our students,” he added.
Last March 13, the House of Representatives and the Senate separately ratified the bicameral conference report on the disagreeing provisions of House Bill (HB) No. 9682 and Senate Bill (SB) No. 1964.
While the differences between the two bills were not immediately specified, the third-reading copies of HB No. 9682 and SB No. 1964 showed proposed higher teaching allowances, initially worth P7,500 and then P10,000.
HB No. 9682 sought that the P7,500 allowance be implemented for School Year 2024-2025 and the P10,000 allowance be started by School Year 2025-2026 and every academic year thereafter.
On the other hand, SB No. 1964 proposed that the P7,500 allowance start for School Year 2023-2024, while the P10,000 be given by School Year 2024-2025.
READ: Bill increasing teachers’ supplies allowance advances
All the increases would not be subjected to income taxes, provided that the total amount of benefits received by the teachers does not exceed the threshold provided by the country’s tax code.