The Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Palawan supported Senate Bill 131 pushing for the salary increase of public school teachers.
Board Members Sharon Abiog-Onda and Ryan Dagsa Maminta sponsored the resolution which was supported by other members of the provincial legislature.
Senator Sonny Angara authored the proposed law that will increase the basic pay for the entry level salary of teachers to Salary Grade 19 or equivalent to P36,409.00.
The current entry level salary of the public school teacher is Salary Grade 11 under Tranche 4 of the Salary Standardization Law (SSL) or equivalent to only P 20,754.00.
However, due to the prevailing cost of living with the increasing prices of basic commodities, the SG 11 as entry level salaries for teachers is considered small.
“Ang nasabing halaga ay lubhang mababa kung ikukumpara sa mga responsibilidad na kanilang ginagampanan bilang tagahubog ng kabataan bilang paghahanda sa magandang kinabukasan,” a statement issued on July 16, 2019 from the provincial government said.
Board Member Onda said that the teachers carry multiple workload and responsibilities and oftentimes the spend preparation for classes in their respective homes due to their heavy loads such as lesson plans and test paper preparations. Therefore, their current salaries specifically the new teachers are not commensurate to their workloads, duties and responsibilities.