MANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed into law on Monday a measure that would increase the “chalk allowance” given to public school teachers in a bid to ease the burden of the expenses they incur in their day-to-day teaching activities.
The Kabalikat sa Pagtuturo Act raises the yearly teaching supplies allowance for each of the more than 930,000 public school teachers from P5,000 to P10,000.
“Teachers teach because they feel they have to teach and they want to teach, and that’s why we must give them the support so that they are allowed to do precisely that, [and] the Kabalikat sa Pagtuturo Act comes as a welcome support to the advancement of the ‘Matatag’ Agenda,” Marcos said in his speech at the signing.
According to him, looking after the welfare of teachers is the fourth component of the “Matatag” agenda of the Department of Education (DepEd), which is primarily aimed at addressing the “challenges” faced by basic education in public schools nationwide.
The signing ceremony held at Malacañang was attended by the country’s top officials led by Senate President Francis Escudero, Speaker Martin Romuadez, other lawmakers and members of the Cabinet.
Noticeably absent, however, was Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte, who has not been on good terms lately with first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos.
Enormous difference
In a statement, the DepEd said the law would cover teachers in the basic education level. This school year, the teaching allowance would be P5,000, with the amount to be doubled in succeeding years. The allowance would not be subjected to income tax, it added.
“And while it might seem inconsequential to those who are already used to having a steady supply of basic materials for work, this amount makes an enormous difference for our beloved teachers and for the students,” Marcos said.
He lamented how teachers, already often saddled with financial difficulties, still have to use their own money for school materials, which, according to him, serve as another distraction from their teaching duties.
“For decades, they have willingly taken on the burden of having to spend their own money on classroom supplies to aid them in teaching. They embrace this wholeheartedly as their responsibility, as part of their duty as teachers, as part of their vocation,” the President said.
Gesture of gratitude
The government and society are responsible for caring for teachers, who are the present-day unsung heroes, he added.
“They toil and burn the midnight oil. They teach our children not for money nor for prestige. They serve our country each day by teaching our children the basic foundations to make them responsible and productive citizens,” Marcos said.
In a separate statement, Sen. Sonny Angara, one of the bill’s authors, expressed optimism that the new law would “result in fewer instances when teachers have to make out-of-pocket expenses in the performance of their duties.”
“Our overworked and underpaid educators should always be supported and initiatives such as these will go a long way in showing our appreciation of what they do for our children’s development,” he said. (Melvin Gascon © Philippine Daily Inquirer)
