Any new increase would have to come in 2020, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said, adding that further increase was not possible because Congress had already passed the 2018 budget. Doubling the teachers’ pay — which Malacañang earlier clarified was not what President Rodrigo Duterte had ordered — would also mean increasing the country’s deficit that, in turn, could jeopardize the country’s “excellent international financial standing,” Diokno said. The income tax adjustments under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law would also increase their take-home pay as these would mean lower taxes, Diokno added. “We need more time to ensure a fiscally sustainable, prudent, and equitable salary adjustment for public school teachers,” the official said. There are about 830,000 public school teachers who make up more than half of the bureaucracy.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer January 17, 2018 22:30 UTC