The 37-member Quezon City council has passed on second reading an ordinance increasing the longevity pay of public school teachers from P100 to P400 for every five years.
“Education is one of our highest priorities in the city, and it is only right that we invest in our public school teachers. This is why the council has been expediting the approval of additional benefits – such as this longevity pay – to help our teachers,” Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte said.
District 1 Councilor Victor Ferrer Jr. authored the proposed ordinance amending Ordinance No. SP-1407 of 2004 in a bid to “uplift the living conditions” of the city’s public school teachers.
Under the ordinance, the longevity pay of public school teachers in Quezon City is increased from P100 for every five years of continuous service to P400 for the same duration.
The proposal, if signed into an ordinance by Mayor Herbert Bautista, would apply to teachers who have rendered at least five years of continuous service, and that teachers with at least 10 years of service, a gap of one year of service is allowed provided that the gap year was done “on account of medical or grave personal problems.”
The budget for the increase would be appropriated from the city’s general fund or special fund.
“We know that our public school teachers are, like all of us, wrestling with the effects of inflation. Right now, they are also dealing with big classes, long hours, and lack of equipment. These problems in our schools are things we want to help address in the long run, but right now, we are first pushing for additional benefits,” the vice mayor said.
Meanwhile, the 37 city councilors have given Bautista the green light to grant P1.5-million in assistance to informal settler families affected by the city’s socialized housing in Barangay E. Rodriguez.
The city government shall provide P20,000 to each censused structure owner, and P7,500 for the sharers and renters.
“To facilitate the implementation of a socialized housing project on the subject properties, there is a need to clear the project site of ISF structures and other obstructions, through temporary relocation (staging outside the project site) as well as permanent relocation of spill-over onsite ISFs to National Housing Authority resettlement sites,” the resolution read.