Makabayan files HB 8968, HB 8969: Raise private school, SUC teachers' basic pay to P50,000

PRESS RELEASE Rep. Antonio Tinio ACT Teachers Party-list 28 April 2026

Makabayan files HB 8968, HB 8969: Raise private school, SUC teachers’ basic pay to P50,000

House Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Party-list Representative Antonio Tinio, together with Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Sarah Jane Elago and Kabataan Party-list Rep. Renee Louise Co, filed House Bill Nos. 8968 and 8969 to set a P50,000 minimum basic monthly salary for teachers in private schools and for teaching personnel in state and local universities and colleges (SUCs/LUCs).

“For years, teachers—whether in private schools or in SUCs—have been told to accept poverty pay as ‘normal,’” Tinio said. “HB 8968 and HB 8969 assert a simple principle: teachers deserve a decent and dignified basic salary, and P50,000 should be the floor.”

“Hindi dapat itinuturing na normal ang sahod na hindi nakabubuhay,” Tinio said. “Isinusulong ng mga panukalang ito ang mensahe na may karapatan ang guro sa disenteng kabuhayan—P50,000 ang minimum.”

The veteran lawmaker noted that these measures build upon the momentum established on the very first day of the 20th Congress, when he filed the landmark proposal to raise the entry-level salary of public school teachers to ₱50,000. By expanding this call to the private sector and higher education, Tinio aims to create a unified, livable standard for all Filipino educators.

“It can be recalled that on the first day of the 20th Congress last year, we already filed the proposed ₱50,000 entry-level salary for our public school teachers,” Tinio said. “With these new bills, we are expanding that vision to ensure that no educator is left behind in our fight for a livable wage.”

Tinio stressed that HB 8968 seeks to correct the severe undervaluation of private school teachers, particularly outside NCR, where many remain underpaid despite being licensed professionals.

“Private school teachers are often invoked as the excuse to suppress public school teacher wages—yet private school teachers themselves are also underpaid and exploited,” Tinio said. “Raising their minimum salary to P50,000 is both a justice issue and a quality education issue.”

“Hindi dapat nakadepende sa tuition hike ang karapatan ng guro sa makatarungang sahod,” Tinio added. “Obligasyon ng pribadong paaralan bilang employer ang disenteng pasahod, hindi ipapasan sa mga magulang at estudyante.”

On HB 8969, Tinio said the bill addresses persistent salary gaps and the inability of public higher education institutions to attract and retain qualified instructors and professors due to low entry-level pay, heavy workload, and worsening cost of living.

“An entry-level Instructor I in a public higher education institution currently receives around P33,947 a month,” Tinio said. “That is not commensurate to the work of educating our youth. We need a P50,000 minimum salary and corresponding adjustments for higher ranks.”

Tinio called on the House leadership to immediately refer the bills to the appropriate committees and fast-track hearings with teachers’ unions and education stakeholders.

“Education is constantly praised in speeches, but teachers are shortchanged in budgets and pay structures,” Tinio said. “We are putting forward clear, doable standards—now Congress must act.” ###