Press Release
June 3, 2009

Teachers to get special salary rates
under modified salary standardization law

Senator Richard J. Gordon (Ind.) today announced that public school teachers across the country are set to get special salary rates once the modified salary standardization bill is enacted into law.

Gordon, acting chairman of the bicameral conference committee, said public school teachers stand to benefit greatly once the Compensation and Position Classification System or the Salary Standardization Law III, principally authored in the Senate by Sen. Edgardo Angara, is enacted into law.

"Once the measure is signed into law, all the 1.145-million government employees will benefit as the salary standardization law proposes to increase their salaries and benefits by a total of P125.6 billion over the next four years," he said.

"Though the salaries of all government employees will increase, public school teachers stand to get a better deal. Under the joint resolution, a teacher who has a specialization in Science or Math will be granted a salary three steps higher in his or her assigned salary grade," he added.

The bicameral conference committee report on the joint resolution was ratified last Tuesday. Gordon, co-author of the measure, acted as chairman of the bicameral committee, while Quirino Rep. Junie Cua headed the House contingent.

Senators Miguel Zubiri and Pia Cayetano; and Representatives Edcel Lagman (Albay), and Salvador Escudero III (Sorsogon) were the members of the bicameral committee.

Once enacted into law, the joint resolution will take effect on July 1, 2009 for national government entities and on Jan. 1, 2010 for local government units (LGUs). The new salary schedule and base pay schedule shall be implemented in four equal yearly tranches.

The joint resolution seeks to correct the distortions and inconsistencies in the present compensation system, taking into account the principle of "equal pay for work of equal value. It provides for a performance-based scheme to reward exemplary civil servants."

Currently, a public school teacher earns P10,933 monthly. After the standard deduction he or she takes home around P8,000.

Gordon, author of Senate Bill 2402 or the Health and Education Acceleration Program (HEAP), underscored the need to give a competitive compensation to teachers as he stressed that improving the country's health and educational system is essential for the Philippines to progress.

Appalled by the sad plight of the country's health and educational system, he filed the HEAP bill, also known as the "text-for-change" bill, to address the pressing problems plaguing the country's health and educational system.

Under the SB 2402, a HEAP Corporation will be established to manage funds that would be remitted by telecommunication companies from a portion of their net revenues from text messages which reportedly reach two billion daily.

The funds would be used to fill the gap in the country's health care and educational requirements.

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