For the first time in Philippine history, a single administration has promoted 82,000 public school teachers in a short span of time, Education Secretary Sonny Angara said Saturday, describing the mass promotion as one of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s lasting legacies.
Angara made the statement in an interview on DZRH News program Special on Saturday on August 1, as part of the DZRH SONA 2026 Series featuring the Department of Education (DepEd): “Isa sa mga magiging legasiya ni Pangulong Marcos ito.”
Undersecretary Wilfredo Cabral, who has served in DepEd for 35 years, confirmed that no previous administration had ever promoted 82,000 teachers at this scale.
“Totoo po ‘yan. First time dahil an administration has promoted 82,000 teachers,” Cabral said.
The mass promotion was made possible by a reformed career progression system that allows teachers to be reclassified without waiting for a natural vacancy in a larger school.
“Ako po halimbawa, Teacher 1. Ire-reclass ako. Na-meet ko ‘yung qualification, magiging Teacher 3 ako pero ‘yung same item. So ibig sabihin po, hindi ako makikipaglaban sa kahit kanino dahil hindi ako maghihintay ng bakante,” Cabral said.
Under the old system, teachers in remote communities had to transfer to larger schools to access promotion items, effectively draining talent from far-flung barangays and island schools.
“‘Yung mga nasa isla, nasa bundok, sila ‘yung tinitingnan dun sa area na ‘yun. Pero ngayon, hindi na kailangan nilang umalis para maghanap ng bagong posisyon,” Angara said.
The career ladder now runs from Teacher 1 through Teacher 7, then to Master Teacher 1 through 5, and eventually to Principal, with a Teacher 1 starting salary of ₱31,000 and a Teacher 4 salary of ₱38,000.
Teacher Mariane Luchavez, a 27-year public school veteran in Valenzuela who was widowed at 48 and raised three children alone on a Teacher 1 salary, received her first-ever promotion to Teacher 4 under this administration.
“Nanatili po ako sa Teacher 1. Gusto ko rin po sanang ma-promote, kasi hindi ko po magawang makipagkumpetensya sa alin po: ang uunahin ko, pag-aaral ng anak ko or pag-aaral ko? So nag-give up po ako, binigyan ko po ‘yung time ko sa anak ko,” Luchavez said.
Angara said the oath-taking ceremonies for promoted teachers have been deeply emotional, with many who waited 30 years for their first recognition finally receiving it.
“Imagine 10, 20, 30 years. Kaya sa bawat oath-taking, kinikilala namin ‘yung mga teachers, pinapaupo namin sa harapan based on their length of tenure. At makikita mo, iba talagang mukhang lola na, lolo na sila, and it’s their first promotion in life,” Angara said.
The DepEd is proposing 130,000 additional promotions for 2027, with Undersecretary Edson Byron saying the department has already doubled its request to the Department of Budget and Management to ensure funding continuity.
Angara stressed that the career progression is not a one-time program but a permanent institutional reform that he hopes succeeding administrations will continue to fund and improve upon.
