KAPITOLYO, Pasig City — While the Department of Education (DepEd) has already began processing the salary increase differentials for public school teachers and non-teaching personnel for Fiscal Year 2024, education secretary Juan Edgardo ‘Sonny’ Angara disclosed that at least ₱400 billion is needed to implement the ₱15,000 across-the-board salary increase for the country’s educators.

Angara made the pronouncement at the Senate subpanel on finance’s hearing on the DepEd’s proposed 2025 budget during which Senator Ana Theresia ‘Risa’ Hontiveros-Baraquel asked what steps is DepEd taking in its plan to uplift the lives of teachers—whether it would be through fair compensation or salary increase.

The lady senator also cited that although the recently signed Executive Order No. 64 ensures salary increases for government employees, teachers’ groups continue to demand wage hikes.

“Either in the form of raising the entry level of teachers from Salary Grade 11 to 15 or 19, gaya ng ipinanukala dati ng ating secretary noong kasama pa natin siya dito sa Senado. O kaya naman gaya ng panukala ko na ₱15,000 across-the-board salary increase,” Hontiveros pointed out.

However, Angara spelled out that the monetary equivalent of such an increase is enormous.

“We’re definitely in favor of increasing teachers’ salaries. (But) the financial requirements are gargantuan (and) it’s not an exaggeration to say that. I think we’ll need ₱400 or ₱500 billion to reach the salary grade desired—iyong ₱15,000 across the board. Because we have over 800,000 teachers,” he clarified.

“That’s why the government, with all its competing financing needs, is having difficulty really doing that. But nonetheless, we’re grateful. I think the teachers are grateful that we have the Salary Standardization Law 6 under EO 64 which the President announced and which you pointed out,” the education chief added.

Prior to his takeover of DepEd on Vice President ‘Inday’ Sara Duterte-Carpio’s resignation as the agency’s head, Angara had expressed confidence that there would be an increase in teachers’ salaries in the next few years.

Still, he admitted that the process would not be easy because of the numbers and finances needed to fulfill this goal. He noted that there are about one million educators in the country, apart from millions of other government employees who are also asking for a salary increase.