Octa survey underscores urgent call for P50,000 teacher salary, national wage hike

ACT Teachers Representative and Deputy Minority Leader Antonio Tinio said the latest Octa Research survey confirms the growing urgency of raising wages, particularly for public school teachers, amid the rising cost of living. The Tugon ng Masa survey conducted in the fourth quarter of 2025 showed that 45 percent of Filipinos now cite wage increases as their top national concern, overtaking inflation control at 41 percent, which had led public concerns since early 2022.

He renewed his call for the passage of House Bill 203, which seeks to raise the entry-level salary of public school teachers to P50,000 from the current starting pay of around P29,000 for Teacher I positions. Emphasizing the necessity of the measure, Tinio said, "Ang P50,000 entry salary para sa guro ay hindi luho—ito ay pangangailangan. Teachers deserve a living wage that reflects their vital role in society and allows them to live with dignity."

Tinio said the findings reflect the failure of workers’ incomes to keep up with daily expenses. While inflation may have slowed, he stressed that purchasing power has yet to recover. Teachers, he added, are among the most affected, with many forced to take side jobs, borrow money, or cut back on basic family needs just to survive.

Beyond teachers, Tinio also reiterated the call for an across-the-board national wage increase for all workers in both the public and private sectors, citing the continued failure of existing wage-setting mechanisms to deliver meaningful hikes. He noted that the same survey showed persistent concerns about having enough food and securing well-paying jobs, underscoring, he said, the reality that many Filipinos remain employed yet unable to meet their families’ basic needs.