With cops still waiting for raise, Duterte vows pay hike for teachers

After vowing to hike the salaries of state security forces, President Rodrigo Duterte said teachers would not be left behind.

In remarks made during a briefing at Camp Guillermo Nakar in Lucena City on Thursday, Mr. Duterte said he would work for the increase of teachers’ pay.

The increase in teachers’ salaries was a promise the President had made during the campaign.

He did not say when the increase would come or by how much their salaries would be increased.

He made the statement after promising to hike and eventually double the salaries of soldiers and police personnel in recent public events. He had said the increases would come in increments.

Earlier, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said the doubling of the salaries of members of the police and military could not be done in one go.

Meanwhile, the Department of Education (DepEd) said it would be releasing by October the performance-based bonus (PBB) of schools and teachers.

Education Secretary Leonor Briones signed DepEd Order No. 56 on July 27 which stated that teachers and other school employees will receive bonuses ranging from P5,000 to P35,000, depending on the performance of their respective schools and personnel for fiscal year 2015.

Assistant Secretary Jesus Mateo, chair of the PBB Task Force said changes in the guidelines have been made to allow more schools to receive higher PBB rates.

Also, teachers and other DepEd employees who received national awards last year from the Civil Service Commission, Metrobank Foundation and the National Literacy Awards will automatically receive the bonus in full at P35,000, according to the order.

The performance review and evaluation of schools and personnel will begin in August while the submission of the proposed PBB implementation plan for funding will follow in September. The bonuses will be released by October this year. With a report by Jocelyn Uy/TVJ

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