Bongbong Marcos Doubled Teachers Supplies Allowance
TEACHERS – The supplies allowance of teachers increased from P5,000 to P10,000 beginning in the school year 2025-2026.
On Monday, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. enacted a law to increase the “chalk allowance” provided to public school teachers, aiming to alleviate the financial burden of their everyday teaching expenses. The Kabalikat sa Pagtuturo Act boosts the annual teaching supplies allowance for over 930,000 public school teachers from P5,000 to P10,000.
“Teachers teach because they feel they have to teach and they want to teach and that’s why we must give them the support so that they are allowed to do precisely that [and] the Kabalikat sa Pagtuturo Act comes as a welcome support to the advancement of the ‘Matatag’ Agenda,” PBBM said in his speech at the signing.
Bongbong Marcos highlighted that supporting teachers’ welfare is the fourth component of the Department of Education’s (DepEd) “Matatag” agenda, which addresses the challenges in public basic education nationwide.
The signing event at Malacañang was attended by top officials, including Senate President Francis Escudero, Speaker Martin Romualdez, other lawmakers, and Cabinet members.
However, Vice President and DepEd Secretary Sara Duterte, who has recently had disagreements with First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, was notably absent.
DepEd stated that the law applies to educators at the basic education level. For this school year, the teaching allowance remains at P5,000 but will double in subsequent years. The allowance will not be subject to income tax.
“And while it might seem inconsequential to those who are already used to having a steady supply of basic materials for work, this amount makes an enormous difference for our beloved teachers and for the students,” said PBBM.
PBBM expressed concern about teachers, who already face financial struggles, having to spend their own money on classroom supplies, which distracts from their teaching duties.
“For decades, they have willingly taken on the burden of having to spend their own money on classroom supplies to aid them in teaching. They embrace this wholeheartedly as their responsibility, as part of their duty as teachers, as part of their vocation,” Marcos said.
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