Metro Manila teachers ask Duterte for 38% wage hike

Members of the Alliance for Concerned Teachers (ACT) on Sunday morning ran five kilometers and danced before the Oblation on the University of the Philippines campus in Diliman, Quezon City, to call for a 38-percent hike in their salaries—from the current P20,000 to P29,668.

“We are calling for our base salary to at least be equal to that of police and soldiers,” ACT-National Capital Region campaign officer Nestor Reyes told the Inquirer.

President Rodrigo Duterte previously ordered the salary of uniformed personnel to be doubled, resulting in an entry-level pay of P29,668.

Reyes clarified that they were simply asking the government to match their base pay.

“[Education Secretary Leonor Briones] should stand up for her employees. As the mother of the agency, she should lead the charge,” he said.

Reyes also denounced Mr. Duterte’s plan to include the provision for a hike in teachers’ salaries in a second tax reform package, saying it should be placed in the 2019 budget.

“It will look like we are raising taxes in exchange for raising teachers’ salary; how will that look?” he said.