Signature drive for teachers’ pay hike launched

To intensify its call on government to act for the welfare of teachers, the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition launched yesterday a national signature campaign calling for the salary increase of public school teachers.

The TDC launched the “National Signature Campaign for Teachers’ Salary Increase” at the Teachers’ Camp in Baguio City. The launch coincided with the on-going National Seminar on the Role of Teacher-Leaders in the DepEd Legal Process where teachers’ legal rights as well as their legislative advocacies were tackled.

TDC National Chairperson Benjo Basas said the group is expecting to gather at least 500,000 signatures from public school teachers and DepEd employees nationwide and present accomplish petition forms to President Duterte on or before his third State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July.

“Come June 4, our teachers will once again be at the frontline of another battle, the continuing fight against illiteracy,” said Basas, who is also a teacher in Caloocan City. “However, we have to be equipped and armed with the necessary weapons – just compensation and provision of the mandated benefits under the existing laws,” Basas said.

The TDC reminded the Duterte government of its campaign promise to provide a salary increase for teachers even as the president, himself, “last month announced that his administration is going to hike teachers’ salaries.”

“We recognize that pronouncement from the president, however, we do not know yet how it will be given and how much the amount would be,” Basas said. “We patiently waited for this promise since he took the presidency two years ago, while obviously, our brothers and sisters in the uniformed service were given priority,” he added.