Since obesity is one of the most common problems among many Filipinos today, advertisers of many food and drinks have all come up with many different products which can attract people who are more health conscious and those who are watching their diets.

A lot of milk, fruit and cola juices have been advertised to be low in fat, zero cholesterol, and simply DIET.

Diet cola drinks have become popular especially among women who watch their diet to maintain their figures.

Is this what has also happened in the COLA of teachers?  DIET COLA?

Since I started teaching in 1992, teachers’ COLA or Cost of Living Allowance has always been Php2,000.

I left the service in 2003 and returned in 2010 up to now 2013, COLA stays the same – Php 2,000.

Has not the cost of living in the Philippines changed? Does Php2,000 in 1992 carry the same market value and purchasing power as today? Isn’t it that living in the Philippines has been more costly and more expensive over the last twenty (20) years? How come that teachers’ COLA has not increased since then?  Have the legislators forgotten this allowance? Has the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) frozen this allowance?

Yes, we have been given salary increases “occasionally” ( Thanks to our Education Department , the Legislative and  Executive)  but our COLA has stood still – in fact very still.

Let us just hope there will come a time that our legislators and the DBM can take notice of this teachers’ COLA and how it has been on “diet” for so many years.

For us, teachers, it is but high time that we start praying more ardently for our COLA to be given a bountiful “meal” so it can stop dieting. Diet (Coke) Cola is OK but diet Teachers’ COLA, please… we’re tired of dieting in our allowances.

 

 

 

 

By: Maricar S. Gerella | Abucay North Elementary School | Abucay, Bataan