17/04/2026
This is my personal reflection AS A TEACHER after watching the featured stories on Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho about educators drowning in debt.
I came across comments saying:
“Live within your means.”
“Decent naman ang salary nila.”
“Pa-rich lang.”
Honestly… mapapatanong ka na lang, are we really that blind?
What does “decent” even mean?
Is a “decent” salary one that allows a teacher to seek medical help immediately without fear, without calculating kung saan kukuha ng pambayad, without borrowing just to survive?
Is “decent” something that can truly sustain a family?
Kayang pakainin, kayang buhayin, araw-araw?
Can it send a child to school, and carry them all the way to college without breaking the parent in the process?
Is that “decent” salary enough to cover basic teaching needs?
Yung hindi mo na kailangang ilabas sa sariling bulsa ang pambili ng printer, papel, o kahit simpleng gamit sa classroom?
Can it give a teacher a safe, dignified home?
Yung hindi ka kabilang sa mga nangangailangan ng rescue kapag may sakuna, kundi ikaw pa ang may kakayahang tumulong sa iba?
Because the truth is, hindi ito teorya. Hindi ito haka-haka.
KITA KO MISMO.
I SEE IT WITH MY OWN EYES.
Mga co-teachers ko, pagod na pagod, yet still showing up every day with a smile.
Pero sa likod nun, they are quietly struggling.
May mga pagkakataon na halos wala nang maiuwing sahod.
Ubos na bago pa man dumating.
At mas masakit?
Every few months, nagre-reloan na naman.
Parang umiikot na lang sa utang ang buhay, walang takas, walang pahinga.
If this is what you call “decent,” then why do thousands of Filipino teachers leave the country every year, choosing distance over dignity, just to earn what they truly deserve?
Is that “decent” salary enough for a teacher to invest in their own growth?
Mag-aral ulit, kumuha ng master’s or doctorate, knowing that promotions demand it, yet the system barely supports it?
Nakakapagod isipin na kung gaano kalaki ang hinihingi sa mga g**o, yet how little is given in return.
And yet, those in higher positions, officials in the Department, policymakers, and legislators, receive salaries that reach hundreds of thousands monthly.
Samantalang ang mga g**o, na nasa frontline ng kinabukasan ng bayan, ay patuloy na kinakapos.
Hindi luho ang hinihingi ng mga g**o.
Hindi marangyang buhay.
Ang hinihingi lang namin ay isang buhay na may dignidad,
a life we can be proud of,
a life worthy of emulation by the very students we teach every day.
Because before anything else, we are examples.
Kaya ang panawagan para sa dagdag sahod ay hindi pagiging “OA.”
It is a cry rooted in reality.
Marami nang hindi tama.
At hindi na talaga “okay” ang kalagayan ng mga g**o sa Pilipinas.
-GalawangFrancisco
