Education Secretary Sonny Angara led the mass oath-taking of 1,814 public school teachers and school heads in the Davao Region on Thursday, marking a milestone in the Marcos administration’s efforts to break career stagnation in the public school system.
The mass promotion across Region XI forms part of the nationwide rollout of the Expanded Career Progression (ECP) System, backed by an PHP8.68-billion funding allocation released by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) on the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
“Para sa ating mahal na Pangulo, President Bongbong Marcos, Jr., nasa puso ng sektor ng edukasyon ang ating mga guro. Dahil kayo ang nagsisilbing ilaw at gabay ng ating mga kabataan tungo sa kanilang mga pangarap,” Angara told promotees at the SMX Convention Center in Lanang.
“Kasama diyan ang pagsisigurong walang gurong magre-retire bilang Teacher I. That is why we are truly grateful to the President for releasing the P8.68-billion budget for the Expanded Career Progression System. This funding is an early gift to our educators as we approach the upcoming World Teachers’ Day Celebration,” Angara added.
The ECP System allows public school teachers to advance to higher salary grades and positions without being forced to leave classroom teaching for administrative roles, addressing a decades-long bottleneck in teacher promotion.
A key highlight of the ceremony was the promotion of 11 long-serving, retirable educators who were elevated from Teacher I to Teacher IV positions right before their retirement, fulfilling President Marcos’ directive to address the long-standing issue of teachers retiring in entry-level positions.
The ECP System allows public school teachers to advance to higher salary grades and positions without being forced to leave classroom teaching for administrative roles, addressing a decades-long bottleneck in teacher promotion.
As of September 28, the nationwide initiative has already reclassified or promoted 82,105 educators, including 29,058 former Teacher I personnel and 512 retirable Teacher I personnel as DepEd scales up career pathways for educators.
Aside from the promotions, DepEd also recognized 11 public and private schools that represented the Davao Region in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2025, while acknowledging local government units and school heads for their support in advancing learning recovery and educational quality.
“May this gathering remind us that teachers are not merely part of our education system; they are at the very heart of it,” Angara said.
Coinciding with the observance of National Teachers’ Month, the mass promotion forms part of DepEd’s broader teacher welfare push, which includes doubled teaching supply allowance, expanded annual medical allowance, reduced paperwork and newly instituted wellness leave benefit for public school educators.
Qualified public school teachers under DepEd will receive their PHP1,000 World Teachers’ Day Incentive Benefit (WTDIB) from October 5 onwards.
