Philippine lawmaker proposes tax exemption for teachers

Philippine lawmaker proposes tax exemption for teachers

A lawmaker in the Philippines has proposed granting a tax exemption to public school teachers as a non-wage benefit to attract more qualified teachers in the education sector where many are allegedly paid non-livable wages.

In a press statement issued on Oct. 17, Cagayan de Oro City legislator Rufus Rodriguez said that the government must adequately compensate teachers, the state-run Philippine News Agency (PNA) reported.

To attract more qualified teachers “the government must provide compensation and benefits, whether monetary or otherwise, commensurate to the work they perform and the contribution they make to society,” Rodriguez said.

According to the Asian Labor Review (ALR) journal, out of 847,467 public school teachers in the Philippines, 93.3 percent (790,687) are in positions that pay a lot less than a livable wage in 2023.

Rodriguez pointed out that teachers were among “the lowest-paid government workers despite the importance of their work,” PNA reported.

According to the ALR journal, public school teachers of the lowest rank, which accounts for 52.7 percent of the teaching population, receive up to 26,733 pesos (US$472) monthly salary.

To put the dire situation into perspective, a Filipino household with five members requires around 1,145 pesos (US$21) to cover their daily expenses. A teacher receives around 890 pesos (US$15) per day based on the journal’s estimates.

According to the Philippine law, the entry-level salary in the public education sector is Salary Grade 11, or 27,000 pesos for Step 1. This salary grade pays up to 29,075 pesos (Step 8), depending on the holder’s length of service.

According to data from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), the teacher-to-student ratio is 1:29 in the elementary level, 1:25 in high school, and 1:29 in senior high school in the Philippines which further contributes to the difficulties faced by the teachers.

“This highlights the difficulties our teachers face in providing quality education to our students,” Rodriguez said.

The ALR journal noted the situation is further complicated by the government withholding financial support for classroom materials, transportation, clothing, and other miscellaneous expenses from educators.

“Public school teachers even shell out money from their own pockets to provide textbooks and other learning tools for their indigent students,” the journal noted.

About 57.9 percent of the Philippines’ teachers had unpaid debt totaling 301 billion pesos (US$53 million) in 2016, which jumped to 319 billion pesos (US$56.2 million) in 2018.

Reportedly, this growth in debt is due to the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law imposed by former President Rodrigo Duterte.

Rodriguez pointed out that the proposed bill titled House Bill 9106 if enacted will provide tax exemptions to teachers on multiple levels.

“All salaries, wages, allowances, and benefits granted to public school teachers, including those in state colleges and universities at all levels, shall be exempted from the withholding taxes as provided for by pertinent laws, rules, and regulations on withholding taxes,” Rodriguez said.

The bill also provides that “all laws, decrees, executive orders, letters of instruction, letters of implementation, rules, and regulations, and other issuances inconsistent with any provision of this Act are hereby repealed, modified, superseded, or amended accordingly,” Rodriguez added.

In addition to their monthly compensation, all government personnel are entitled to mid-year pay equivalent to a one-month salary and a year-end bonus, which is also equivalent to a one-month salary, plus a 5,000 pesos (US$88) cash gift, as per the new bill.