Palace non-committal on teachers’ pay hike

Malacañang yesterday said the clamor of public school teachers for a salary increase would need to undergo discussions on whether or not the government can afford to provide a minimum of 25,000 entry level pay for public school teachers.

Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said that as government employees, the salaries of public school teachers are under the Salary Standardization Law ( SSL).

“We have equal protection under our Constitution and if we increase the salary of this sector, other sectors of government will be asking why only the teachers got a salary increase,” Lacierda said.

“That’s why we have the Salary Standardization Law to ensure that everyone who is similarly situated will be similarly treated,” he said, noting that lawmakers can file a bill if they wish to grant a pay hike for teachers.

“They have the option to do that but we have a law that we abide by, and it will be up to the lawmakers to decide,” he added.

On the part of the Executive branch, however, Lacierda said there will be discussions on the matter.

“There will be a discussion certainly on how much the government can afford, we’re very clear with how we use government revenues and how it is used,” he said, noting that it will have an impact on the national budget.

“But then again, it’s not something entirely left to us because there’s a Salary Standardization Law which we are likewise following,” he added.