ACT announces teaching supplies allowance increase
Public school teachers will soon receive higher teaching supplies allowances from the current P5,000 to double the amount, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) announced.
ACT said it lauds the passage of the the “Kabalikat sa Pagtuturo Act” doubling the benefit to P10,000 starting School Year (SY) 2025-2026 which is scheduled for signing into law at Malacañang Palace on Monday, June 3.
The group said ACT Teachers party-list spearheaded the recent measure in the House of Representatives, which was passed in December 2023 with the approved provision of P7,500 for SY 2024-2025 and P10,000 for SY 2025-2026 onwards.
The counterpart bill in the Senate was passed in May 2023.
Only P5,000, however, has been granted for SY 2024-2025 in the reconciled Senate Bill 1964 and House Bill 9682 of the Bicameral Conference Committee.
“This is proof that we can achieve more victories through collective action and with the help of our true voice inside Congress, ACT Teachers Party-list,” ACT national chairperson Vladimer Quetua said in a statement.
Quetua added that since 2011, ACT Teachers has sponsored many bills in Congress aimed at increasing teaching supplies allowance for public school teachers.
“Teachers have long been spending their own money for teaching supplies, including repairs and enhancement of classrooms. The increases in teaching supplies allowance is a big deal to us,” he added.
“Through the efforts of Rep. Antonio Tinio and Rep. France Castro during budget deliberations and the lobbying of ACT leaders and members, the annual chalk allowance increased from P700 to P1,000 in 2012, to P1,500 in 2016, P2,500 in 2017 and P3,500 in 2018,” he said.
Quetua added that the increased benefit shall be used for the purchase of chalks, erasers, forms, and other classroom supplies and materials currently given to classroom teachers in public schools annually.
ACT also reiterated its call for salary increase including P50,000 entry-level pay for teachers, P33,000 salary for Salary Grade (SG) 1 employees, SG16 for Instructor 1 in state universities and colleges, and P33,000 national minimum wage for all education workers.
“We continue to call for increases in salaries to make them decent,” Quetua added. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
