Just yesterday, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) released National Budget Circular No. 594, implementing the first tranche of the salary adjustment under President Marcos Executive Order No. 64. The DBM stated that agencies are now authorized to process the payment of this salary adjustment retroactive to January 2024.

However, public school teachers and government employees, while acknowledging the salary adjustment, are dissatisfied with the amount it offers. For example, the increase for the lowest-paid government employees is only P513 per month, which translates to just P24 per daylower than the recent increase for private sector workers. For entry-level teachers, the increase is only P1,512 per month. These so-called increases simply do not keep pace with the rising costs of living, leaving many government employees, including our teachers, struggling to meet their daily needs. And with the DBM leaving the implementation to the internal processes of each agency, we can expect potential confusion, if not chaos. Some agencies may facilitate the release immediately, while others particularly larger ones like the DepEd -could face delays.

We strongly believe that teachers deserve a separate salary scheme that truly reflects our unique contributions to society. This is why we actively support legislative efforts aimed at increasing compensation for public educators.

Reference:
Benjo Basas, National Chairperson
09273356375