Senatorial candidate Richard Gordon. SCREENGRAB FROM INQUIRER VIDEO
“Don’t pay them peanuts. Pay them well.”
So said senatorial candidate Richard “Dick” Gordon on Wednesday, promising to raise the salaries of teachers to about P40, 000.
During an INQ Live interview in Makati City on Wednesday, Gordon was asked about his priority bill if elected senator in May 9.
He said raising the salary of teachers would be one of his priorities.
The current salary of a teacher, he said was at P18,500 compared to the P130,000 a month for teachers in Singapore.
“Ngayon P18,500 gawin nating Salary Grade 21 at siguro mababayaran mo ng P39, 000. Ginawa kong P39,000 muna kasi napakataas ng buwis. Pag binayaran mo ng P40, 000 yan, ang buwis niyan 35 percent,” he said.
(Today, its at P18,500, let’s make it Salary Grade 21, so perhaps you could pay them P39,000. I made it P39,000 initially since income tax is high. If you give them P40,000, it would be taxed 35 percent.)
He said the government must be able to entice Filipino teachers to go back to the Philippines to practice their profession.
“We should get our teachers back,” he said, adding that raising their salary would be a good start.
He said the Philippines used to have one of the highest literacy rates, but has now declined.
“Bakit pinabayaan natin ang education natin (Why did we neglect education?),” he said, adding that education should be in the priority agenda of our country.
He said teachers hold the future of the youth, which would be the next leaders of our country.
“Sila ang may hawak ng ating kabataan eight hours a day. Sila ang nagtuturo ng vision ng values ng volunteerism at ng good citizenship,” he said.
(They are the ones who serve as stewards of our youth eight hours a day. They teach the vision, the values of volunteerism and of good citizenship.)
He said students taking education courses should have scholarship programs and entice them to teach to public and private schools in the country after graduation.
“Bayaran natin nang wasto. Itaas mo ang salary standard nila (Let’s pay them justly. Raise their salary standard.),” he said.
He said quality education would help the nation achieve progress.
“To me education is the key. That (education) would be number one on my agenda,” he said. CDG
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