Senators anticipate a much better performance from public school teachers after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. formally signed Republic Act (RA) 11997 or the “Kabalikat sa Pagtuturo” Law, which provides them annual teaching supplies allowance of up to P10,000.
Senator Ramon Revilla, Jr., principal author and sponsor of the legislation, led the list of Upper Chamber lawmakers in thanking the President for enacting the measure. He said the additional ‘chalk allowance’ will be a great help to our state educators.
“Sa mga guro, ito po ang ipinangako namin, ito na po—na-deliver na (To the teachers, this is what we promised (you), here it is. We have delivered),” Revilla said in a video shared after the ceremonial signing of the law in Malacañang on Monday, June 3.
Senator Sonny Angara, who co-authored the law, said the increased allowance will eliminate out-of-pocket expenses of teachers. He acknowledged that state educators are often “overworked and underpaid,” thus they “should always be supported.”
“Initiatives such as this will go a long way in showing our appreciation of what they do for our children’s development,” Angara said. He supported the measure in the Senate over the past five years as when he was still working as chairperson of the Senate Committee on Finance.
Under the 2020 General Appropriations Act, a total of P3.25 billion was allocated for the P3,500 teaching supplies allowance of over 930,000 teachers.
From 2021 onward, the teaching supplies allowance was raised to P5,000 for each teacher, even before the institutionalization of the grant of these funds and even when there was no mandate to increase the budget.
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, also co-author and chairperson of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, recalled that the Senate passed similar measures during the 17th and 18th Congresses. He added that institutionalizing the grant of the allowance would ensure its inclusion in the national budget every year.
In previous years, he said the inclusion of a cash allowance for teaching supplies depended on congressional initiatives.
Senator Grace Poe, meanwhile, said the increase is a timely relief for our hard-working teachers, who sometimes spend their own money for school supplies.
“This is a law we have fought for since the last Congress and we are overwhelmed it has finally come to life,” she said.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline Senators hail signing of ‘Kabalikat sa Pagtuturo’ Law
