Lapus pushes for hike in teachers’ pay

CEBU CITY, Dec. 4 (PNA) – Education Secretary Jesli Lapus continued lobbying for the bill to grant higher salaries for public school teachers.

”What we want to happen is to put back the teachers on the pedestal where they belong,” said Lapus at Monday’s Teachers’ Day celebration of the Cebu City Division.

Lapus said they have been getting strong support from the Senate and Congress to increase the salaries of the public school teachers.

”For two years now, our teachers received a 10 percent increase in their salaries every year. And not only that, we are receiving strong support from the Senate and Congress to increase the salaries of education employees only by P9,000 spread over a three year period,” he said.

House Bill 4734 and Senate Bill 2408 seek to give additional pay for teachers to make their salaries “at par with those received by soldiers and policemen.”

Lapus said it is important that the government invest well in education because it means investing in human resource.

”The kids in basic education will compromise our labor force up to 2060 and before we are long gone,” he said.

Lapus hopes the bills will be passed into law so that teachers will immediately receive the P3,000 increase.

He said teachers will also be paid overtime should they exceed the eight-hour working requirement to compensate teachers for the hard work they do for the education of thousands of students in the country.

Meanwhile, Sen. Miguel Zubiri has allocated P1 million for the medical needs of the public school teachers in Cebu City. Public school teachers who seek treatment at the Cebu City Medical Center are entitled to the medical assistance.

Zubiri is also negotiating with Pag-IBIG Fund for the construction of a medium-rise condominium for the teachers of Cebu City who do not have their own home.