QC  officials thanked for endorsing bill on teachers’ pay hike

ANGELES CITY – Pampanga first district Rep. Carmelo Lazatin thanked Quezon City officials yesterday for supporting his proposal to increase the monthly pay of public school teachers from the average P10,933 to P21,172.

Lazatin said the Quezon City council recently unanimously endorsed his House Bill No. 1491 to increase the basic pay of teachers nationwide.

“The Quezon City council endorsed my bill by issuing Resolution No. 3976 which was introduced by councilor Dorothy Delarmente,” he said.

“In order to truly address the alarming predicament and the dilemma facing the teaching profession, hence, necessitating the expression of support for the enactment of House Bill No. 1491,” the city council’s resolution stated.

HB 1491 proposes to increase the salary grade of all public school teachers from salary grade 10 to 22 and providing funds for this.

Lazatin said the support of Quezon City officials, led by Mayor Feliciano Belmonte, would be “a big boost” to HB 1491 which he filed last July.

“At present, we cannot blame our teachers for looking for work abroad. But we must continue to do something to address their needs,” he said.

In this city where Lazatin had served as a three-term mayor, councilors also earlier issued a resolution supporting his bill.

In another development, the municipal council of Masantol, Pampanga unanimously approved a resolution supporting House Bill 1488 also filed by Lazatin seeking state university status for the Pampanga Agricultural College (PAC) in Magalang town.

Lazatin said even Commission on Higher Education director Felizardo Francisco supports his proposal.