Senator Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada called on the government to raise teacher compensation to deter them from looking for work overseas.
Estrada emphasized the need to look at public school teachers’ pay and perks to make sure they are in line with their workload.
According to the chairman of the Senate Committee on Labor, “Pagtutuunan po natin ng pansin ‘yang pagtaas ng suweldo ng ating mga guro sa pampublikong paaralan dahil ang pagiging isang guro ay isang marangal na trabaho, ngunit talagang noong araw pa napakababa na ng kanilang tinatanggap na sahod, kaya talagang nakakaawa rin itong ating mga guro lalong-lalo na sila ‘yung naatasan na magbilang ng mga boto at kinakailangan talagang bigyan ng karagdagang sahod ang ating mga guro sa public schools.”
As per Estrada, a pay raise is required to make up for the increased workload brought on by blended learning owing to the Covid19 epidemic.
“Marami talaga ang mas pinili ang mag-abroad kahit na underemployed dahil mas malaki ang kita nila doon. In a 2019 data, ang basic salary ng Teacher 1 ay nasa P20,574, paano naman mapapagkasya ‘yan sa sunod-sunod na taas ng presyo ng mga pangunahing bilihin? Dagdag pa diyan ang hirap ng pandemic dahil sa online classes, gastos sa load para sa data or internet connection,” he added.
As long as the government can find the funds, Estrada added, a law that attempts to raise the pay of teachers can be enacted in Congress.
Additionally, he noted, “It all boils down to funding. Basta may budget madali, basta sesertipikahan ng National Treasury na may pera napakadali pong ipasa.”
