Teachers’ take home pay increase takes effect

DAVAO CITY, Philippines — Public school teachers will enjoy the increase of their take home pay as the government implements the TRAIN (Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion) Act, plus increases in their allowances, the Department of Education (DepEd) said.

In a statement, the DepEd stated it is supporting the administration’s tax reform initiative as this would “significantly develop the country’s human capital”.

DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones has been working on helping teachers get an adequate compensation. Last October 26, she signed DepEd Order (DO) 55, or the “Revised Guidelines on the Implementation of PHP4,000 Net Home Pay for DepEd Personnel”.

Briones has said teachers now owe P123 billion worth of loans to the GSIS, which prevously threatened to sue DepEd and the teachers if the debt remains unpaid.

Teachers also owe private lending institutions around P178 billion as of December 2016.

The TRAIN Act or Republic Act No. 10963 was signed by President Rodrigo Duterte last December to provide income tax cuts to most of the Filipino taxpayers. It is also said to be the first package of the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program.

The basic salary of a Teacher 1, for instance, is PHP19,620 and has a take home pay of PHP17,220.

 

They would have a take home pay of PHP20,012 (with Personnel Economic Relief Allowance or PERA), the DepEd said.

The move aims to help teachers manage their finances, after data showed that many of them avail of various loans. DO 55 prioritized deductions for contributions to the GSIS, Home Development Mutual Fund, Bureau of Internal Revenue, and PhilHealth.

Meanwhile, teachers can also look forward to an increase in their allowances. Their clothing allowance, which used to be PHP5,000, would be PHP6,000 this year.-Editha Z. Caduaya/Newsline.ph