Cebu teachers hold prayer and candle lighting for P9,000 hike in pay

March 04, 2009
PRESS RELEASE

References:

William Alterado ACT-Cebu City Chairperson
Benjie Paragsa ACT- Cebu City Secretary General

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers Cebu lead the public school teachers in a candle lighting and prayer rally today (March 4, 6:pm) at Fuente Osmenia Clock, to demand the immediate passage of legislation granting them a P 9,000 in salary.

The demonstratration is the response and cebu's teachers contribution for a nationwide coordinated teachers protest that has been dubbed as “ Teachers on the march: Parada ng mga Guro para sa P9,000 Dagdag na Suweldo.”

The symbolic protest is meant to deliver a strong message to the 8 Cebuano congressmen and the House of Representatives in general. Teachers all over the country are demanding that Congress pass the proposed legislation granting teachers a P9,000 increase not only to restore some of the purchasing power lost over the last seven years but also to address the growing disparity between the salaries of teachers and other positions in government,” said ACT Cebu City chairperson William Alterado.

Alterado noted that salaries of uniformed personnel had overtaken those in the teaching profession since the passage of legislation such as R.A. 8551, passed in 1998, which provided the basis for upgrading salaries of police personnel, and R.A. 9166 in 2002, which upgraded the pay of personnel in the armed forces. “A public school teacher today receives a basic monthly salary of P12,026. A mere cadet in the Philippine National Police Academy, on the other hand, receives P15,992. A 2nd Lieutenant in the armed forces, with academic qualifications similar to that of a teacher, receives P17,629. Aside from this, the lieutenant receives subsistence and other allowances and longevity pay amounting to an additional P5,333. Even a private receives more per month, at P15,036, than a public school teacher. Our demand for a P9,000 increase seeks to address this situation which has downgraded the teaching profession and demoralized teachers.” ###