Teachers want to discuss salary hike with DBM chief

MANILA, Philippines — The Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) has requested an urgent meeting with Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman to address public school teachers’ concerns regarding salary increase.

TDC chairman Benjo Basas said the group sent a letter to Pangandaman last Thursday, reiterating their request for updates regarding the anticipated salary increase for civilian government employees, including public school teachers, for fiscal year 2024.

“This request follows previous communications dated March 25 and May 10, 2024. In addition to the salary increase, the TDC also seeks clarification on the long-awaited performance-based bonus (PBB) and queries about the impact of Executive Order 61,” Basas added.

In the letter, the TDC emphasized its concerns regarding the PBB for FY 2022, saying teachers have been waiting for over a year for the release of their PBB for 2022 despite “having submitted all necessary requirements last year.”

“The delay has caused frustration among educators yet to receive this promised incentive,” the group said in its letter.

The TDC also sought clarification regarding the performance-based bonuses under the Results-Based Performance Management System (RBPMS) and the Performance-Based Incentive System, which were suspended by President Marcos for review and revision.

“While the TDC agrees that the PBB may cease to exist because it is being used as the justification for the ‘burdensome, bureaucratic, laborious and time-consuming nature of the RBPMS,’ the group seeks assurance that fair incentives like the Service Recognition Incentive (SRI) and Productivity Enhancement Incentive (PEI) will still be provided to employees,” Basas said.

“The TDC also seeks clarification on whether teachers are still required to comply with the Department of Education’s RBPMS rules for school year 2023-2024 because until now, the DepEd has yet to respond to several queries from the TDC and other entities,” he added.

Finally, the group also sought a follow-up on the results of the Department of Budget and Management-Governance Commission for GOCCs Studies and the Status of Salary Increase for FY 2024, as the DBM previously promised to release the