Palace assures teachers: Duterte ‘working’ on wage hike

MANILA, Philippines  — Malacañang assured teachers on Monday that President Rodrigo Duterte was “working” on their salary increase as he ordered his economic managers to look for funding.

“The President is working on that and hopefully that can be responded to. Our economic managers are doing everything to see how things can de done,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a Palace briefing.

Duterte has promised that after the military and the police, teachers are next in line for a salary increase. But three years after he assumed office, a wage increase for teachers has yet to be seen.

READ: Duterte vows to raise salary of teachers this 2019

“The President has not been reneging on his commitment but as you all now, there have been many things that occurred during the three year term and the President had to increase the salaries of the soldiers as well PNP as he ably explain these are the front liners in securing our country and when they go out of their homes, half of their feet are already buried on the ground,”Panelo said.

The President, Panelo said, has ordered his economic managers to look for funds.

“I don’t know where they will get the funds but they are looking for these source,” he said.

In January this year, Duterte said he was willing to “accommodate” and meet teachers’ representatives in Malacañang to discuss the wage hike.

“Will arrange for that. I’ll talk with the President about that,” Panelo said. (Editor: Julie Espinosa)