Salary law favors top officials

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – President Benigno Aquino III, congressmen, senators and Cabinet members granted themselves  huge salary increase, which includes a 233-percent hike to almost P400,000 a month for Aquino, while teachers, soldiers, and nurses would only receive 11 to 12 percent of salary increase or P24 a day.

Rep. Antonio Tinio reopened the debates on the proposed bill on Salary Standardization Law to discuss amendment to make the salary increases for teachers, nurses and soldiers fair.

“Increases given to the rank and file were an insult especially to the teachers, nurses, police, soldiers, and other professionals, Tinio said.

The SSL bill is now on the third reading and the House announce that it would be most likely to be approved this week.

The bill was approved on the second reading before the Congress suspends its sessions during Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation week.

The SSL 2015 will increase the basic salaries of teachers and nurses by only P2, 205 for four years, which will be the lowest salary rate under Aquino’s SSL 2015, ranging from 11 percent to  22 percent.

“The salary increases for top officials will run to as high as 186.45 percent for legislators and Cabinet officials, and a whopping 233.12 percent for the President of the Philippines,” he said.

“It is clear that when it comes to basic pay, it’s a downside on government employees in the lowest and middle levels while those who are in higher positions are greatly favored under the proposed SSL 2015 of President Aquino,” Tinio added.

Tinio is urging the House to reconsider its approval on SSL 2015 second reading or House Bill 6268, and admit his proposal also increase the salaries of other government employees.

“After three years of not having salary increase, hundreds of thousands of rank and file employees are raving for the Congress to give its stamp of approval to this unjust bill,” he said.