THE Commission on Human Rights (CHR) on Friday welcomed the enactment of Republic Act 11997 or the Kabalikat sa Pagtuturo Act that raises the teaching allowance from P5,000 to P10,000 benefitting some 800,000 public school teachers nationwide.
“This effort will undoubtedly ease some of the financial burdens that our public school teachers face. More than the financial incentives, it sends a powerful message that we, as a nation, value and respect the dedication of our educators in honing the intellectual and moral development of our youth,” CHR chairman Richard Palpal-latoc said.
The initiative signifies the government’s commitment to uphold the rights of our educators, ensuring that they are provided with the necessary resources and support to perform their duties effectively, he said.
The Commission invoked Article XIV, Section 1 of the Philippine 1987 Constitution mandating that “the State shall protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality education at all levels, and shall take appropriate steps to make such education accessible to all.”
It cited Section 18 of RA 4670 or the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers stating that “teacher’s salaries shall, at the very least, keep pace with the rise in the cost of living by the payment of a cost-of-living allowance which shall automatically follow changes in a cost-of-living index.”
