Teachers score house's 'discriminatory' wage hike bill

MANILA, Philippines — Militant teachers scored Wednesday a proposed public sector wage hike bill in the House of Representatives, which it said favors military and uniformed personnel over civilians. The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) said the pay increases in House Joint Resolution 24 are higher for soldiers and policemen than for teachers, nurses, lawyers and doctors. "While we do not begrudge military and police personnel the pay increases that will be granted them, we do resent the fact that the Arroyo administration has consistently focused on upgrading the pay of uniformed personnel while neglecting to do the same for the civilian bureaucracy," ACT chairman Antonio Tinio said in an article on the ACT website (www.actphils.com). “We appeal to the members of the House as well as the House leadership, particularly Speaker (Prospero Jr.) Nograles and Committee on Appropriations chairman Junie Cua, to heed our call for fairness and uplift the pay and status of teachers and other professionals in the civilian bureaucracy," said Tinio. Tinio said teachers are particularly demanding a P9,000 increase in the total compensation of teachers, from the current P14,026 to P23,026 a month. He added that from 2001 to 2007, Malacañang imposed a wage freeze on civilian personnel but substantially upgraded the salaries and benefits of military and police personnel. “Unfortunately, we’re seeing the same bias in the administration’s current proposal," he said. House Joint Resolution No. 24, filed by Speaker Prospero Nograles Jr. on Sept. 16 last year, allows the President to modify the salary scales in government. But Tinio noted the resolution was based on a draft by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM). “Therefore, it is the Arroyo administration’s public sector wage hike proposal," he said. ACT cited a recent Technical Working Group meeting where DBM officials explained that a Police Officer I or Private will receive a total monthly compensation (which includes basic pay and allowances) of P19,800; a cadet in the Philippine National Police Academy will receive P25,140; and a 2nd lieutenant, P34,218. In contrast, a Teacher I or Nurse I will receive P20,549; an Accountant I will receive P21,940; a doctor or lawyer (Medical Officer I or Attorney I) will receive P28,878. “In this proposal, a cadet in the PNPA will be paid 22% higher than a public school teacher. In fact, the cadet will have the same basic salary as anAssociate Professor I in our state universities and colleges. That’s a tenured Ph.D. holder sharing the same pay grade as a plebe in the academy. Is that fair to professionals in the civilian bureaucracy?" Tinio said. The ACT said some 5,000 public school teachers marched to the Batasang Pambansa to make their demand. Similar protests were held simultaneously in Cebu City in the Visayas and Koronadal City in Mindanao, it said. It added that in Koronadal, more than 500 teachers marched to the Round Ball in the center of the city, where they held a rally and candle lighting ceremony in support of the call for a P9,000 increase in the salaries of teachers. “This march signals our determination to carry on this struggle for decent salaries for teachers and other professionals in government," Tinio said. - GMANews.TV