Councilor Danilo Dayanghirang, chair of the finance, ways and means committee advised the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT)-Davao Region to lobby with the Mayor Sara Duterte first before the City Council for their appeal for an increase in allowance.
“I advised them to write a letter to the mayor because what is unfortunate is that they directly came to Councilor Pilar Braga (Chair on the Committee on Education) and it was referred to me but I noticed that they have to go to the mayor first,” said Dayanghirang.
The Councilor and the union of all public school teachers in Region XI convened amid the call for a P2,000 monthly allowance and a P2,500 quarterly rice subsidy.
The budgeting process should start with the executive department hence, the matter is withheld in the committee on finance, ways, and means until the recommendation of the Mayor.
Meanwhile, Dayanghirang thinks “the figures are big.”
For the monthly allowance of P2,000 of 11,959 teachers, a total of P287,016,000 is needed annually.
Meanwhile, for the P2,500 allowance, 119,590,000 is desired.
A total of P406,666,000 annual budget shall be allocated for the request of the teachers.
As of current, 1% of the Real Property Tax of the City goes to the Special Education Fund (SEF) which is P500 Million for 2018.
As presented by Dayanghirang, the SEF is where the budget for the city paid teachers, school security personnel, and water and electricity bills are obtained.
However, the ACT-Davao region expressed that they are hopeful for their request.
“From the statements of Councilor Dayanghirang, we note that he is positive to support the campaign of the teachers. The only thing we have to do is to see first the Mayor to follow the process,” Mr. Elenito Escalante, President of ACT-Davao Region and a teacher in Davao City’s Daniel R. Aguinaldo National High School said.
“We understand the need especially that Davao has a high cost of living,” Escalante defended.
Despite the 20,000 monthly salary of teachers, Escalante described that “the take-home pay cannot take (teachers) home.”
“That’s why we called before the council to help us,” he said.
“We ask all the City Council, especially Councilor Danilo Dayanghirang as the chair of the committee on finance and Councilor Pilar Braga, to continue supporting the call of the campaign of the teachers of the Davao Division,” Escalante said.
