Angara says pay hike for public school teachers possible

MANILA, Philippines — Incoming Department of Education (DepEd) chief Sonny Angara expressed confidence that the salaries of public school teachers will increase in the next few years.

But he also admitted that the process will not be easy, noting that not only about a million public school educators are asking for a pay raise but also millions of other employees in government.

“I’m confident in the next few years, hindi ko lang alam kung this year or next year, pero magkakaroon ng pagtaas sa sweldo ng ating teachers,” Angara said in an interview over Radyo 630.

(I’m confident in the next few years, but I’m just not sure if this year or next year will be an increase in our teachers’ salaries.)

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According to him, who has extensive experience as a legislator before being named as the next DepEd head, upgrading the salary of government workers is no joke.

“So, talagang mahirap (it’s really difficult),” Angara emphasized. “But I’m confident because every administration, nagkakaroon ng pagtaas ng [sweldo] mga teachers. Ako, ang tingin ko, dito sa loob ng termino ni Pangulong Marcos, magkakaroon po tayo ng pagtaas sa sweldo ng mga teachers,” Angara emphasized.

(But I’m confident because every administration, there’s an increase in teachers’ salaries. For me, I think, within President Marcos’ term, there will be an increase in teachers’ pay.)

Angara then disclosed that he would look at improving public school teachers’ benefits aside from possibly raising their salaries. Particularly, he is eyeing ways to “fix” public school teachers’ access to loans.

“Kasi nakikita ko, for example, ‘yung mga nakukuha nilang mga loan, minsan natatali sila dyan nang matagal, at minsan mataas ang interes. So, pag-aralan natin tapos kausapin natin ‘yung ibang financial institutions ng gobyerno dahil may Government Service Insurance System naman, may Land Bank, may SBCorp sa Department of Trade and Industry, nagpapautang ng mura sa mga negosyante,” he explained.

(What I’m seeing is, for example, that with the loan they are getting, sometimes they get tied to it for a very long time, and the interest is sometimes high. So we will study this, and then we will talk to other government financial institutions because there’s the Government Service Insurance System, Land Bank, and SBCorp in the Department of Trade and Industry that offer loans to businessmen at low interest.)

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“So, kunwari, meron silang investment, dapat meron din silang access dito at preferential treatment. ‘Yan ang opinyon ko pero ayoko pangunahan dahil wala pa namang pag-uusap, pero ‘yun ang isa sa mga plano ko na ayusin natin – ‘yung kanilang benefits at saka ‘yung access to loans, things like that. Very common ‘yan, nadi-distract sila sa kanilang pagtuturo dahil ika nga, busy sila dahil sabi nga ng Pangulo, merong pamilya itong mga ito,” he added.

(So, for example, if they have an investment, they should have access here and preferential treatment. That’s my opinion, but I don’t want to get ahead because there’s no conversation yet. However, that’s one of the things that I want to fix – their benefits and access to loans, things like that. Commonly, they get distracted in their teaching because, just like the President said, they have families too.)

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. picked Angara as the next Education Secretary, replacing Vice President Sara Duterte, who quit her Cabinet position in June. Angara will take the helm of DepEd starting July 19.