📷: Alliance of Concerned Teachers / FB
The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines slammed the Department of Education’s (DepEd) offer of loan restructuring and expanded borrowing options to teachers, calling it “a hollow and insulting response to a crisis created by decades of government neglect.”
ACT said the DepEd’s so-called support mechanisms—marketed as efforts to “help teachers better manage their finances”—completely miss the point and instead reecho blame onto teachers buried in debt due to irresponsibility, while refusing to recognize that they are forced to rely on multiple loans because of chronically low salaries, inadequate benefits, and meager pay increases.
“Utang na loob, hindi dagdag na utang at mas mababang interes ang kailangan naming mga guro, kundi makabuluhang dagdag-sweldo para mamuhay nang disente. Hanggang kailan itatanggi ng gobyerno na kapos ang sweldo ming mga kawani at manggagawa?” stated Ruby Bernardo, ACT Chairperson.
“Our take-home pay can no longer take us home. What DepEd offers are not real solutions but heavier burdens that push teachers further into a cycle of debt. More loans and restructuring schemes are not even a band-aid for a gaping wound but another cut that will bleed us dry,” Bernardo added.
“Ang petsa de peligro ng mga guro ay hindi lang tuwing kinsenas-katapusan kundi araw-araw. Araw-araw din ang kalamidad at emergency ng mga guro dahil sa kapos na sweldo. Ang mungkahing mangutang pa dahil sa krisis, kalamidad, at emergency ay pagtalikod sa tunay na kalagayan at hinaing ng mga guro,” explained Bernardo.
The group also challenged DepEd Sec. Sonny Angara to account for his track record, noting that as a former legislator, he had filed measures to raise public school teachers’ pay by upgrading the entry-level position from Salary Grade 11 to Salary Grade 19—equivalent to over P50,000 under the current government salary scheme.
“Teachers continue to be among the most underpaid workers in the country despite their expanding workload, mounting responsibilities, and central role in nation-building. Our compensation remains far from commensurate with our contribution, while salary distortion within the bureaucracy persists to our disadvantage,” Bernardo pointed out, citing the explanatory note in Secretary Angara’s proposed bill when he was a legislator.
“Bilang kalihim ng DepEd, ngayon ang mas mainam na panahon para hindi lamang ipahayag ni Sec. Angara ang suporta sa panawagang dagdag-sweldo ng mga guro, kundi itulak ang administrasyon na gawin itong prayoridad lalo’t apektado ang kalidad ng edukasyon ng hikahos na kalagayan ng mga guro,” Bernardo urged.
ACT emphasized that genuine relief lies not in expanding credit access but in ensuring that teachers are paid justly.
“The government must stop normalizing debt as a survival mechanism for teachers. What teachers need is not more loans and lower interest rates, but a decent entry-level pay and improved economic benefits,” added Bernardo.
The group reiterated its urgent call for long-overdue economic reforms in the education sector, particularly a P50,000 entry-level salary for teachers across all levels, public and private, and an increase in the Personnel Economic Relief Allowance (PERA) to at least P5,000, which has remained at P2,000 since 2009. #
