Teachers run for salary increase

MANILA, Philippines — Teachers and education workers held a fun run at the University of the Philippines campus in Diliman, Quezon City to reiterate their call for a substantial salary increase ahead of the third State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Marcos on July 22.

Dubbed “Takbo Para Sa Umento,” the five-kilometer run was participated in by the members of the ACT Teachers Party-list, UP Salary Fight Network and Education Workers’ Alliance for Greater and Equitable Salaries.

The participants ran from University Avenue in UP Diliman to the Quezon City Hall where a brief program was held.

“Public school teachers and employees long await substantial salary increase as our last tranche of salary adjustments ended in 2023 while the government is yet to pass a law mandating for a new round of increases,” ACT chairman Vladimer Quetua said.

“Educators and employees in private schools, on the other hand, have been suffering too long already from measly salaries that at times do not meet even half of what is received by employees in the public sector, especially for those in the provinces,” he added.

ACT has been specifically calling for P50,000 entry-level salary for teachers; P33,000 monthly salary for Salary Grade I education employees and P30,000 monthly salary (Salary Grade 16) for those under Instructor 1 classification.

The group has also been calling for minimum salary standards for private school teachers to be at par with those in public schools.