2019 Public School Teachers Salary in the Philippines

Since the Salary Standardization Law 1 (RA 6758) was enacted, there were clamors to upgrade the entry-level position of government teachers.

The Congress through the Edcom report of 1991 recommended the upgrading of teachers’ position.

Since then, it has been a perennial proposal in both houses of Congress but usually ends up in the archives.

“The state shall assign the highest budgetary priority to education and ensure that teaching will attract and retain its rightful share of the best available talents through adequate remuneration and other means of job satisfaction and fulfillment.”

-Philippine Constitution (Article XIV, Section 5 (5)

Monthly Basic Salary of Public School Teachers in the Philippines

Position	Salary Grade	2012	2018	2019
Teacher I	11	18,549	20,179	20,754
Teacher II	12	19,940	22,149	22,938
Teacher III	13	21,436	24,224	25,232
Master Teacher I	18	31,351	38,085	40,637
Master Teacher II	19	33,859	42,009	45,269
Master Teacher III	20	36,567	47,037	51,155
Master Teacher IV	21	39,493	52,554	57,805
Head Teacher I	13	21,436	24,224	25,232
Header Teacher II	14	23,044	26,494	27,755
Head Teacher III	15	24,887	29,010	30,531
Head Teacher IV	16	26,878	31,765	33,584
Head Teacher V	17	29,028	34,781	36,942
Head Teacher VI	18	31,351	38,085	40,637
Principal I	18	31,351	38,085	40,637
Principal II	19	33,859	42,099	45,269
Principal III	20	36,567	47,037	51,155
Principal IV	21	39,493	52,554	57,805

Approximately 60% of licensed teachers in the private schools earn roughly P12,500.00 a month.

DepEd Public School Teachers Compensation and Benefits

The Constitution directs the State to “ensure that teaching will attract and retain its rightful share of the best available talents through adequate remuneration and other means of job satisfaction and fulfillment”.

Particulars	Amount	Frequency	Legal Basis
Basic Salary	Refer to the Attached Salary Schedule Above	Monthly	DBM NBC No. 546 dated February 24, 2016
Personnel Economic Relief Allowance (PERA)	2,000.00	Monthly	DBM NBC No. 2009 -3 dated August 18, 2009
* Representation and Transportation Allowance (RATA)	Refer to the Attached RATA Schedule	Monthly	DBM NBC No. 546, dated January 17, 2013
Mid-Year Bonus	One (1) month basic salary	Annually	DBM NBC No. 546 dated February 24, 2016
Year-End Bonus	One (1) month basic salary	Annually	DBM NBC No. 2010-1 dated April 28, 2010
Cash Gift	5,000.00	Annually
Productivity Incentive Benefit (PIB)	2,000.00	Annually	DBM Circular Letter Nos. 3-97, 2001-6 and 2002-3 dated January 31, 1997, March 2, 2001 and January 2, 2002
Performance-Based Bonus (PBB)	Ranges from 35,000.00 (Highest) to 5,000.00 (Lowest) depending on the performance of each delivery unit	Annually	Executive Order No. 80 s.2012 entitled Directing the Adoption of a Performance Based Incentive System (PBIS) for Gov't Employees
Productivity Enhancement Incentive (PEI)	5,000.00	Annually	DBM Budget Circular No. 2013-3 dated November 21, 2013
Clothing Allowance	5,000.00	Annually	DBM NBC No. No. 2012-1 dated February 23, 2012
Loyalty Pay	10th year: 10,000.00 15th year: 5,000.00 20th year: 5,000.00 25th year: 5,000.00 30th year: 5,000.00 35th year: 5,000.00 40th year: 5,000.00	Annually	COA Circular No. 2013-003A s. 2013
Step Increment	One (1) Step Increment shall be granted to officials and employees for three (3) years of continuous satisfactory service in the position.		Joint CSC and DBM Circular
Anniversary Bonus	3,000.00	15th anniversary of the government agency and every fifth year thereafter.	Administrative Order No. 263 dated March 28, 1996 and DBM National Budget Circular No. 452, dated May 20, 1996

*Applicable only for Division Chiefs positions and above

“The quality of an education system cannot exceed the quality of its teachers.” – (McKinsey and Co., 2007)

Public school teachers salaries is on average 72% higher in private schools

Average monthly salary of Elementary and High School Teachers

• PhP 19,600 in public schools
• PhP 11,400 in private schools

Wide variation in teacher salaries in private sector

• From a low of PhP6,700 in ARMM to high of PhP14,600 in Region X

Disparity in teacher salaries -public vs private sector

• Highest in ARMM – salaries in public schools 158% higher than that those in private schools
• Lowest in NCR – salaries in public schools 34% higher than that those in private schools

Average monthly salary of Public and Private Elementary & High School Teachers in the Philippines (in pesos)

Region	DEPED teachers (1)	Private ES/ HS teachers (2)	(1)/ (2)
Philippines	19,566	11,416	1.71
NCR	19,283	14,366	1.34
CAR	18,802	13,143	1.43
I - Ilocos Region	19,896	8,212	2.42
II - Cagayan Valley	20,454	10,181	2.01
III - Central Luzon	19,450	10,665	1.82
IVA - Calabarzon	19,690	10,451	1.88
IVB - Mimaropa	20,300	9,558	2.12
V - Bicol Region	19,449	11,584	1.68
VI - Western Visayas	19,401	10,423	1.86
VII - Central Visayas	19,416	12,148	1.6
VIII - Eastern Visayas	19,726	13,100	1.51
IX - Western Mindanao	19,542	8,085	2.42
X - Northern Mindanao	20,813	14,632	1.42
XI - Southern Mindanao	19,326	9,762	1.98
XII - Central Mindanao	20,710	9,235	2.24
CARAGA	18,947	8,157	2.32
ARMM	17,145	6,650	2.58

DepEd Public School Teacher Indebtedness

What could aggravate the situation of a DepEd teacher in terms of salary is indebtedness.

• The problem of teachers’ debts has remained unresolved for decades
• Generations of education secretaries have been working out various strategies in past administrations
• Problem continues to fester and the debts of teachers is mounting.
• DepEd is looking for measures to address this growing debt bomb and its dangers.

Propensity to borrow

Type of HH	% of HH with outstanding loans a/
with at least 1 DepED teacher	57.9
where DepED teacher is sole earner	57.1
with at least 1 Private ES/ HS teacher	26.8
where teacher is sole earner	18.9
with at least 1 other gov't workers	33
with at least 1 other private sector worker	22.2

a/ as indicated by number of HH which are making loan payments

Source of basic data: 2015 Family Income and Expenditure Survey

*Propensity to borrow of households with at least one DepEd teacher is about double that of other types of households

DepEd Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones Stands on Salary Increase

Am I against salary increases and improving teachers benefits?

Certainly not, because the mandate of the Constitution clearly provides a rationale: it is needed to so that teaching will attract and retain its rightful share of the best available talents, so that the quality of the education of our people is promoted.

But I believe that representatives of our teachers need to dialogue without losing sight of mutual respect.

I wish to remind our teachers that the rights and privileges of teachers that we uphold come with great responsibility.

As stated in the code of ethics of professional teachers, “Teachers are duly licensed professionals who possess dignity and reputation with high moral values as well as technical and professional competence in the practice of their noble profession, and they strictly adhere to, observe, and practice this set of ethical and moral principles, standards, and values.”

Must Read: Top Reasons Why Public School Teachers Should Get a Well-deserved Salary Increase

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