Senators unanimously approved on Monday a bill seeking to increase the Teaching Supply Allowance (TSA) of public school teachers.

Under Senate Bill No. (SBN) 1964 or the “Kabalikat ng Pagtuturo Act” principally authored and sponsored by Senator Ramon Revilla Jr., the TSA shall be gradually increased from the current PHP5,000 to PHP7,500 for school year 2023-2024, and to PHP10,000 for school year 2024-2025 onwards, which shall not be subject to tax.

With the Senate’s approval, Revilla said teachers will be able to play their roles without abandoning their welfare.

“It is with great honor that we shepherd this meaningful legislation that will be our loudest declaration of our commitment to our teachers – that they will never be alone in this journey,” Revilla said in his manifestation.

In his sponsorship speech last week, Revilla noted that public school teachers are forced to shell out money from their own pockets to procure supplies for the actual conduct of teaching since what is currently being granted to them is just PHP5,000 annually or just PHP24 a day.

“The current cash allowance already includes a PHP500 allocation for medical examination. If we deduct that from the purchase of teaching materials and equipment, it will drop to PHP22 only per day. A box of chalk costs PHP68, a ream of bond paper costs PHP120, not including the internet load,” he said.

Revilla, who chairs the Senate Committee on Civil Service, Government Reorganization and Professional Regulation, also asked the House of Representatives to consider the approval of the measure reminding that the Senate had already passed the measure repeatedly in the 17th and 18th Congresses.

Meanwhile, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian has filed the Public School Database Act to prevent school records from being damaged.

Senate Bill No. 478 or the National Public School Database (NPSD) will develop, operate, and maintain a database that contains learner information like grades, personal data, good moral record and improvement tracking, among others.

He said that NPSD is crucial as the country experiences weather disturbances and physical documents are easily damaged or lost due to fragile storage, flood, fire, and other disasters.

By storing learners’ school records in the NPSD, school heads and teachers are assured important documents are preserved and easily accessible. (PNA)