Hindi kami humihingi ng doble –teachers

Hindi naman dobleng sahod ang hinihingi ng mga guro.

Ito ang buwelta ng koalisyon ng mga guro kahapon matapos muling igiit ni Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno na hindi kakayanin ng gobyerno na itaas ang suweldo ng public school teachers ngayong taon.

“The secretary keeps on floating the idea that the government cannot afford doubling the salaries of teachers,” sabi ni Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) National Chairperson Benjo Basas.

“Who says that it should be doubled in the first place…we only ask for a P10,000 acrossthe-board increase for teachers and education workers and it will not be a one-time release but thru tranches,” dugtong niya.

Nagagalit ang mga guro kay Diokno matapos nitong ipahayag na hindi prayoridad ng pamahalaan na itaas ang suweldo ng mga pampublikong guro sa ngayon.

Nauna rito sinabi ni Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque na nais ng Pangulo na doblehin ang suweldo ng mga guro. Ngunit kinontra ng DBM chief ang kanyang pahayag at idinagdag na kapag dinoble ang suweldo ng mga guro ay mangangailangan ang pamahalaan ng P343.7 bilyon.

“To give him an idea, it would only cost the government P4000 per teacher for the first tranche,” giit ni Basas. “That is way below what they provided to our military and uniformed personnel.”

Iginiit ni Basas na ang kanilang panukala na batayan din ng Senate Bill No. 704 o “Basic Education Teachers Pay Increase Act” na inihain ni Senador Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV noong 2016 “should be treated over and above” ng Salary Standardization Law (SSL.)

Nauna rito ay sinabi ni Diokno na ang mga guro – tulad ng iba pang empleyado ng pamahalaan – ay nakatakdang tumanggap ng adjustment sa kanilang suweldo sa 2018 at 2019, mula sa susunod na dalawang tranches ng SSL.

“This SSL is based only on an executive order from former president Aquino,” Basas argued. “Thus, it is within the power of the executive to raise our salaries by next year and not to wait beyond 2019 to consider…we firmly believe that teachers’ salary increase should be a priority,” diin niya.