Under his watch, Angara wants teachers, students to be ‘happy, inspired, excited’

Incoming education secretary Sonny Angara says he will study the proposal to increase the salary of entry-level teachers

MANILA, Philippines – Incoming Department of Education (DepEd) secretary Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara said that under his watch, he would focus on making teachers and students “happy, inspired, and excited.”

Angara said this in a chance interview with reporters on Tuesday, July 16, when asked what would be his focus when he assumes the DepEd leadership on July 19.

“‘Gusto ko maging happy, inspired, and excited ‘yung ating mga estudyante at pati na rin ‘yung ating mga guro. Hindi na lang inaalala ‘yung kanilang pinansyal at pananalapi at doon sila nakafocus sa pagturo talaga,” Angara said.

(I want our students to be happy, inspired, and excited, as well as our teachers. I want our teachers not to worry about their finances, and to really focus on teaching.)

Improving the welfare of teachers was one of the directives of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to the incoming DepEd chief. The President emphasized that the government should financially support teachers who have families to feed.

Teachers’ groups have been asking the government for a better compensation package. Currently, those who have Teacher 1 designation earn P27,000 per month.

For years, teachers have been leaving the country in their quest for better pay and better working conditions.

In her two years of delivering the annual education report since she assumed the DepEd position, Vice President Duterte did not make any big promises to improve the welfare of teachers. In 2024, she ordered the removal of administrative tasks from them so they could focus on teaching, a move that was lauded by education groups. She also ordered the implementation of overtime and overwork pay for teachers.

Angara said that he would study the proposal to increase the salary of entry-level teachers to P50,000.

“Ang suweldo is set by the Congress kapag nagkakaroon tayo ng increases o umento sa [sahod ng] mga empleyado ng gobyerno. And 100% suportado tayo diyan at tinutulak po natin ‘yan, especially noong member pa tayo ng Senate committee [on finance],” he said in an interview with DZBB on July 3.

(The salary increase of government employees is set by the Congress. And we are 100% supportive of that and we have been pushing for that, especially when I was part of the Senate committee on finance.)

Angara inherits a gargantuan problem in the education sector, including the poor performance of Filipino students in global education assessments. A World Bank report showed that 9 in 10 Filipino students aged 10 are struggling to read simple text.

Angar succeeds Vice President Sara Duterte at the DepEd. She stepped down on June 19, effectively leaving the Marcos Cabinet. Duterte had said that she was resigning “out of concern for teachers and the Filipino youth.” – Rappler.com