Other Privileges of the

Teaching Personnel in the

Public and Private Schools

Teaching Personnel in the Public

Schools
As Civil Service Employees, the public
school teachers, supervisors, and
administrators are enjoying special
privileges. All privileges of the teaching
personnel are prescribed by law.

Some of the privileges granted are the

following:
1. Persons in Authority
Commonwealth Act No. 578
This law recognizes supervisors, teachers, and
professors of public and recognized private schools
as persons in authority. Any person guilty of assault
made directly or indirectly upon a supervisor,
teacher, or professor will be subject to penalty or
imprisonment ranging from six months and one day
to six years and a fine from P500.00 to P1,000.00.
( Approved, June 8, 1940 )

2. Study Leave
A one-year study leave with pay shall be granted to a
teacher who has rendered at least seven years of
satisfactory teaching.
Magna Cartas Section 24 states: During the period
of such
leave, the teacher shall be entitled to at
least 60% of his salary: Provided, however, that no
teacher shall be allowed to accumulate more than
one-year study leave, unless he needs an additional
semester to finish his thesis for a graduate study in
education or allied courses. Provided, further that no
compensation shall be due the
teacher after the
first year of such leave.

3. Maternity Leave
Commonwealth Act No. 647, as amended by Rep. Acts No.
270 and 1564, provides maternity leave to regular and
temporary female who are married.
Regular teachers with two and a half or more years of
service are entitled to 60 days of maternity leave with full
pay, while those with less than two and a half years of
service are entitled to 60 days, with half pay.
Temporary teachers with at least two years of service are
entitled to 60 days of maternity leave with half pay.

4. Outside Teaching
Ed. Department Order No. 9,s 1959
enclosed to B.P.S. Circular No. 4, s. 1960
and General letter No. 112, dated July
11,1960 , allows public school teachers,
elementary, or high school to teach in
private evening schools in not more than 12
hours a week in addition to their regular
loads in their own schools.

5. Retirement Benefits
Teachers from the public school are given a onerange salary raise upon retirement. A teacher
belonging to Step 3, for instance, will be classified
upon retirement as within Step 4 of the next range.
The salary for the higher range and monthly salary for
the last three years before effective date of
retirement will be the basis for computation of the
lump sum retirement pay.

A lifetime monthly pension equivalent to 90% of

their monthly salary is given to those who retire at
age 60, under Presidential Decree No. 1146 (Old Age
Pension). Under Republic Act 660, an annuity benefit
equivalent to 80% of the monthly salary for the last
three years shall be given to those
who retire at

6. Vacation and Sick Leave

(Revised Administrative Code Sec.275, as
amended by Commonwealth Act No. 220 and RA
No. 218)
Vacation and sick leave are cumulative and any
part which may not be taken within the school
calendar year may be carried over to the
succeeding year.
A sick teacher who has used his accrued leave
privileges is entitled to go sick leave without pay.

7. Compulsory Insurance
(Commonwealth Act No. 186, as amended
by Rep. Act Nos. 660 and 1616)
Provides for life and retirement insurance.
Membership in the GSIS is compulsory
upon all teachers, except those who are
substitute, upon all regularly and
permanently appointed school employees.

8. Vacation Pay
All teachers, except those who are on
vacation and sick leave basis are on the
teachers leave basis. They are all entitled
to pay during the Christmas and long
vacations.
Temporary teachers who have served at
least six months are also entitled to
vacation pay. Teachers vacation pay may
be commuted or paid in advance.

9. Service Credits
A teacher on the teachers leave basis is
given service credit when he is asked to
work during the vacation period.
This service credit may be used to offset
past and future absences due to illness or
other reasonable causes.

10. Salary Loan

Public school teachers are allowed to
borrow money from the Government
Insurance System, an amount not to
exceed his monthly salary.

11. Free Medical Consultation

The public school teachers are required to have
annual physical check-up.
They are given free medical consultation by the
school physician.

12. Compensation for injuries

Teachers are protected against the
consequences of employment injuries. The
effects of the physical and nervous strain in the
teachers health shall recognized as a
compensable occupational disease in
accordance with the existing laws.

13. Cost of Living and special Hardship

Allowance
The teachers salaries shall keep pace
with the rise in the cost of living by the
payment of a cost-of-living allowance
which shall automatically changes in a
cost-of living index.
Special hardship allowance are to be
enjoyed by public school teachers in areas
who are exposed to hardship /hazards.

14. Enjoy Academic Freedom

(Sec 5, Article XIV of the Phil. Constitution and by
Rep. Act No. 4670 which is known the Magna
Carta for Public School Teachers)
The right of the teacher to an atmosphere of
academic freedom in the discharge of his
professional duties
Teachers are therefore free to use any method of
teaching they think best for the pupils.

15. Joining Teachers Organization

Public school teachers shall have the right and
without previous authorization freely to establish
or to join organizations.

16. Working Hours for Teachers

Teachers engaged in actual classroom teaching
are required to render not more than six hours of
actual classroom teaching a day.
They may be required to render more than six
hours but not exceeding eight hours of actual
classroom teaching a day upon payment of
additional compensation.

17. Tenure of Office

Regular or Permanent Public School
teachers and officials are granted stability
of employment and security of tenure.
Teachers appointed on a provisional
status or temporary who rendered ten
years of continuous, efficient, and faithful
service as of June 18, 1966, and all
teachers who have rendered ten years, of
extended permanent appointment.

PRIVILEGES OF TEACHERS IN
PRIVATE SCHOOLS
Teachers in private schools, like the public
school teachers, enjoy some privileges
besides their tenure of office.
Social Security System provided its
members the following benefits: death,
disability, sickness, and retirement benefits.

Other privileges
1. Maternity Leave (R.A. 679)
provides maternity leave to married female
teachers in private schools.
2. Study Leave
Some private schools, colleges, and universities
also grant study leave to their deserving faculty
and staff members in the form of scholarship,
visiting other schools in foreign countries, or
exchange with teachers from foreign schools or
universities.

3. Vacation Pay
In some private schools or universities, teachers
are given bonuses for extra work done during
summer vacation.

4. Hospital Privileges
Besides the provision in the Social security
concerning sickness benefits, teachers in some
private schools, colleges and universities enjoy
hospital privileges by becoming members of the
hospitalization plan

OTHER LAWS
Republic Act No. 660
This Act amended Section 12 of Commonwealth
Act
186. The Act provides for automatic retirement at
the age of
65 if the teacher has completed 15 years
of service. If he has
not, he shall be allowed to continue
in service until he
completes 15 years, unless he is
otherwise eligible for
disability retirement. Upon
specific approval of the
President of the
Republic of the Philippines, an employee
may be
allowed to continue to serve after the age of 65 if he
possesses special qualifications and his service are needed.
It shall be the duty of the latters automatic separation
from
the service at least sixty days before his
retirement takes
effect.

Republic Act No. 842 ( Amended R. A. No.

312 )
The salary Act of 1953 (R.A No. 842) provides for a
revised salary scale and automatic salary
increases for
public school officials, teachers, and other
school
personnel. This law allocates the grades
and the salary
scale for the various positions. This
Act provides
further that a teacher with
educational qualifications or
civil service eligibility
higher than the standard
required for the
position to which he is appointed,
shall be given a
higher entrance salary than a teacher
who merely
meets the standards. It also provides that
salaries of all
the school personnel shall first be
adjusted in
accordance with the entrance salary rates
prescribed in
this Act. After the adjustments in salary
has been
provided, increases for regular personnel
shall be
automatically effected until the maximum
rates have
been attained. (Approved, May 1, 1953)

Republic Act No. 4670, entitled

The Magna Carta for Public School
Teachers
The purpose of this Act is to promote and improve
the social and economic status of public school
teachers
their living and working conditions, their
terms of
employment and career prospects.
This will help public
school teachers compare favorably
with other
professionals and therefore will
attract and retain in the
teaching profession more
qualified people who are
aware that
education is an essential factor in the
economic growth of the nation. (cf. Inclosure 1 and 2 for
the full text)

as

Presidential Decree No. 1148 Amending and Increasing

the Pension of the Teachers Retired Under Act No. 3050
Amended. Issued May 31, 1997.

Section 1 The pension of a teacher who retired under Act

No. 3050
shall be increased by one hundred pesos monthly,
and that of every
one of his/her beneficiaries, by fifty pesos
monthly.
Section 2 Appropriations for the fiscal year and annually
thereafter
shall come from inappropriate funds of the National
Treasury.

Letters of Instructions (LOIs)

LOI No. 998 On the Purchase of Uniforms for
Certain Agencies of the National Government.
Issued March 13, 1980.
-

School teachers shall be given the option to

receive their uniform allowance in the form of
cash
or in the form of material centrally
procured by the
Ministry of Education
and Culture at its head office
or the regional
office from HERDITEX Incorporated.
LOI No. 1414 Directing the Evaluation of Proposal
Intended to Improve Teacher Welfare.
Issued June 22, 1984.
- The Trustees of the Government Service Insurance
System (GSIS) shall study and act on the possibilities of
(a)
receiving the housing loan program and
generally of
improving on the benefits attendant to
system
membership and (b) supporting the
establishment
and operation of dormitories for

Executive Orders
System of
Teachers . Issued
Inclosure 1)

Executive Order No. 500 Establishing a New

Career Progression for Public School
March 21, 1978. (Refer to

- The rationale behind this executive order is to retain

quality teachers in the teaching profession. An excellent
teacher can be promoted to the rank of a Master
Teacher
provided he meets all the necessary
requirements for the
position.
- It provides a bifurcated system of budgeting for the
supervisory and the teaching group. The salary of the
Head Teacher is the same as the salary
of Master Teacher
I, Principal I and Master Teacher
II, etc.
- Remarks: Implemented in MEC Order No. 10, s. 1979
(Jan. 31, 1979), entitled Implementing Rules and
Regulations for the System of Career Progression for
Public School Teachers, as
promulgated by the Civil
Service

Executive Order No. 189 Legal Rights for Teachers

minimum
wages,
standards
being of

Labor standards laws fix and prescribe the

terms and conditions of employment such as
allowances, and benefits. They provide minimal
of living for health efficiency and general wellthe teachers.

Wages / Salaries
The International Labor Organization United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ILOUNESCO) Conference in Paris, France adopted on Oct. 5, 1966
the following recommendations that would provide just wages
to teachers

The salaries given to teachers should be fitting

recognition of the enormous responsibility they have to
the society that they serve.

Compare favorably with salaries paid on other

occupations requiring similar or equivalent
qualifications.

Provide teachers with the means to ensure a reasonable

standards of living for themselves and their families as
well as to invest in further education and the pursuit of
cultural
activities,
thus
enhancing
their
professional
qualifications.

Take account of the fact that certain posts require

higher qualifications and experience and carry
greater
responsibilities.

Some Recent Laws and Issuances Governing

Teachers Salaries

Executive Order No. 153

was issued by
President C. Aquino on March 25, 1987 and took effect on March 1,
1987. It provided for 20% salary increase for the public elementary and
secondary teachers but 15% only for the teachers in SCUs. This order
was implemented through National Compensation Circular No. 47 and
Local Budget Circular No. 29, issued by the Department of Budget and
Management on April 13, and April 2, 1987, respectively.

Republic Act No. 6642, otherwise known as

General
Appropriaions Act for 1988, granted another 10%
increase for
all government teachers, effective January 1, 1988.
Its
implementing rules and regulations are provided in
National
Compensation Circular (NCC) No. 51.

Wage Supplements
or in
his/her

A wage supplement is an extra amount, whether in cash

kind, which a teacher receives regularly, over and above
wages.

Cost of Living Allowance (COLA)

Public school teachers cost of living allowance is
provided
under the Magna Cartas Section 18, which
states that: Teachers
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
follow automatically
the changes in a cost-of-living index. The
Secretary of
Education shall recommend to Congress at least
annually the apportion of the necessary funds for the cost-ofliving allowance.

Laws on Cost-of-Living Allowances

National Compensation Circular No. 41, which took effect
on July 1, 1986 increased the former COLA of public school
teachers by P150, raising the former P350 to P500 per month.
Additional COLA was provided by the national
government in National Compensation Circular No. 52 effective
January, 1988 increasing the COLA to P700.
The current salary rates of
public school teachers,
however, are still below the decent income threshold for a family
of six members which is P162 per day of P4,860 monthly
according to the March 8, 1988 figures of the Bureau of Labor
and Employment Statistics (BLES).
The purchasing power of the teachers pay is also fast
eroded by the imposition of new taxes like the value added tax
(VAT) which triggered another round of price hikes of basic goods
and services by at least 20%.

Another law providing local COLA for the public school

teachers is the Special Education Fund Act (republic Act 5447) as
amended by Letter of Instructions No. 1462, section 2.4, issued
on May 31, 1985, which states that:
Allowances given to public school teachers out of the
Special Education Fund (SEF) shall not exceed one hundred
percent (100%) of the basic pay in first class local government
units, seventy five percent (75%) in second and third class local
government units, and fifty (50%) percent in fourth and lower
class of local government units.
This is the reason why some Manila teachers are given
higher COLAs over and above the P700 per month provision
from the national government. As an example, Makati and
Paraaque public school teachers are receiving COLA which is
equivalent to 100% of their basic salaries. This is the result of
the militancy of teachers in negotiating for just shares from the
SEF for their fringe benefits like the local COLA.

Clothing Allowance
An annual antional clothing allowance of P300 is
given to all
public school teachers under Sec. 33, Batas
Pambansa No. 866 (General Appropriation Act of 1985)
Manila teachers receive an additional P300 local, or
city/municipal government share. Quezon City, Marikina,
Mandaluyong and San Juan teachers are granted a local
share of P900.This is likewise a product of their unrelenting
struggles during the previous years.

Year-End Bonus and Cash Gift

By virtue of Executive Order No. 130, all government
teachers and employees shall be granted a year-end bonus
equivalent to one-month basic salary and a cash gift of P1,000.
The EO is implemented through NCC No. 49, effective November 13,
19887. The year-end bonus corresponds to
the 13thmonth
pay given to private employees.

Medical Allowance
An annual medical allowance of P2,000 was given to all
government teachers and employees in 1986 only. But it ceased
to be granted with the issuance of Executive Order No. 147 on
March 3, 1987. Government teachers and employees are now
clamoring for the regularization of this benefit due to increasing cases
of work-related illnesses affecting civil servants
throughout the
country. DECS officials, however, recently came
out with the
statistics that only 10% of the 350,000 public school teachers were
afflicted with tuberculosis.

Additional Compensation For Extra Work

compensation
work rendered.

Public school teachers must be paid additional

equivalent to 25% of their basic pay for extra

Magna Cartas Section 14 states that: Notwithstanding

any
provisions of existing law to the contrary, co-curricular and outofschool activities and any other activity outside what is defined
as
normal duties of any teacher should be paid an additional
compensation of at least 25% of his/her regular remuneration after
the teacher has completed at least six hours of classroom teaching a
day.

Subsidy for Instructional Materials

The 1981 national budget under Batas Pambansa No. 80
initiated
the practice of giving the public school teacher P100 a
year for chalk
and other school supplies. This
practice was
institutionalized through
DECS Memorandum No. 79, dated Feb
13, 1981.

Other Labor Standards

Subject Load and Teaching Hours - Public school
teachers engaged in classroom instruction may not be required to
render more than six hours of classroom teaching. Working beyond
these hours entitles teachers to receive an additional compensation of
at least 25% of their regular remuneration.

Health and Welfare - Among the health and welfare

benefits guaranteed to teachers under the Law are:
(a)

free compulsory medical examination once a year

(b)

compensation for work-connected diseases or injuries

according to existing workmens compensation laws

(c)

60-day maternity leave during which a female teacher is

entitled to full pay

GSIS, MEDICARE and PPSTA Benefits

GSIS Benefits
worksum or
injury or
basis

(a) Permanent and/or partial disability benefits for

related injury or illness, payable in lump
monthly basis
(b) Sickness-income benefits for non-work related
illness, payable in lump sum or monthly

(c) Optional life insurance for dependents, with

premium
costs lower than those available
from private insurance
companies
(d) Survivorship benefits that accrue to dependents of
members and pensioners, payable in
monthly pension

Medicare
(a) Hospitalization benefits
(b) Surgical expense benefits
(c) Medical expense benefits
(d) Sterilization expense benefits
PPSTA Benefits
(a) Mutual aid sytem
(b) Free accident insurance worth P2,000
(c) Mutual financial assistance in cases of
hospitalization
and calamity

No Discrimination Policy (RA 4670, Section 10)

There shall be no discrimination whatsoever in entrance
to the
teaching profession or during its exercise, or in the
termination of services other than professional consideration.

Married Teachers (RA 4670, Section 11)

Whenever possible, the proper authorities shall take all
steps to
enable married couples, both of whom are public
school teachers, to be employed in the same locality.

Indefinite Leave (RA 4670, Section 25)

An indefinite sick leave shall be granted to teachers when
the
nature of illness demands a long treatment that will
exceed one year at the least.

THANK YOU