MANILA, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed into law on Monday, June 3, a bill seeking to grant up to P10,000 in teaching supply allowance for Filipino teachers annually.

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Under Republic Act No. 11997 or the Kabalikat sa Pagtuturo Act, public school teachers in the basic education curriculum will receive P5,000 in teaching allowance for the upcoming school year 2024-2025.

The allowance will increase to P10,000 beginning school year 2025-2026, and will remain that way for succeeding school years.

It will not be subject to tax, so teachers will be able to take home the allowance in full.

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“With the passage of this law, we are easing some of the burden that you [teachers] carry each day,” Marcos said on Monday.

The measure has 115 principal authors in the House, and 13 authors in the Senate.

Among those who filed the bill earliest are Bong Revilla, Robin Padilla, Sonny Angara, and Bong Go in the Senate; and France Castro, Arlene Brosas, Raoul Manuel, and Emigdio Tanjuatco in the House of Representatives.

A quick search on the House website shows the proposal was introduced as early as 2011 by then-ACT Teachers representative Antonio Tinio.

Groups have long pushed for an increase in Filipinos teachers’ salary, which begins at P27,000 per month. Think tank IBON Foundation says the family living wage for a household of five in Metro Manila is P1,192 per day, or P35,760 per month. – Rappler.com