Legarda Pushes for Improved Magna Carta for Public School Teachers

MANILA-Senator Loren Legarda today said that Filipino teachers should receive remuneration and benefits commensurate to the demands of their job.

Legarda filed anew the proposed amendments to the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers stressing that public school teachers are among the lowest paid government workers considering the nature and importance of the services they render.

“Aside from educating our children, teachers are constantly called to assist in various civic activities which contribute to the welfare of the community and the country, most notable of which is when they perform their functions as members of the Board of Election Inspectors during election period, and when they assist the National Statistics Office in gathering data from households in all parts of the country. Despite these duties, our public school teachers do not receive sufficient salary. This has resulted in an exodus of our competent teachers who find higher paying jobs and better terms of employment abroad,” she said.

Legarda has filed Senate Bill No. 8 to provide for security of tenure to teachers, payment of the salaries of both teaching and non-teaching personnel on a monthly basis regardless of semestral or summer vacations, annual salary increase or adjustment to mitigate the effects of inflation, among other measures that will protect the rights and promote the welfare of public school teachers.

The proposed measure will also provide for gratuity benefit for teachers and non-teaching personnel who choose to retire before reaching the compulsory retirement age of 60 and have rendered not less than two years service; guarantee the right to self-organization, collective bargaining and to negotiate directly with school owners and administrators.

“To attract the most competent and efficient to the teaching profession, it is imperative for the government to provide compensation and benefits commensurate to the work that teachers perform and the contribution they make to the society. Furthermore, the State owes absolute fidelity to the protection of the rights and promotion of welfare of teachers,” Legarda concluded.