I vividly remembered then Senatorial Candidate Richard Gordon in a 2013 forum, he was talking fast and sure. He said, for education in the country to take-off to better heights, teachers must be paid well.
Scavenging the internet, I came across this 2013 article from pep.ph, where Senator Gordon was heavily quoted saying The poor are gonna remain poor because natuturuan sila ng mga teachers na overworked, underpaid, and have other issues.”
Pahayag pa ni Gordon, “I predict the next suicide will be a teacher.”
Ang tinuran ng dating senador ay may kinalaman sa pagsu-suicide noong Marso 15, ng UP Manila Behavioral Sciences freshman na si Kristel Tejada.
Committed ba tayo na mag-invest in education?”
“You do not pay the teachers well, forget it! Matatalo tayo,” aniya sa kanyang speech.
Fast forward, 2025 the biggest headline this July 2, 2025 is that the Makabayan Bloc had refiled the Bill to increase the Entry -level salary of teachers to 50k. It came sneaky of sorts but its also well-calculated -move that can raise emotions. If given due course it will be a major legislation similar to the Free College Law or UNIFAST Law.
Personally, it will be an easy choice, the salary marks the commitment of the government for quality education and therefore, a commitment to a better workforce, better quality of life and ergo better country.
But the fiscal repercussions are palpably painful. It will mean more borrowing a tighter leg room for the economy and indeed, it will mean that other segments of the yearly allocations are to suffer given the sheer size of the slice of the national budget pie.
It may be a big deal of a bill; it may be a big gamble but it may be the silver bullet to the ails of education and the maladies of learning gaps. This may be the answer we were waiting in the long while.
I would wish that this measure be given due course, if only to give chance to the teachers and the learners as well.
