The past year has shown how much resilience can exist within one profession that holds the country together. As the 2025 flood-control corruption scandal triggered nationwide protests and investigations into billions of pesos in missing public funds, another story quietly unfolded in the classrooms. While politicians debated and citizens marched, thousands of Filipino teachers continued to stretch every peso to keep lessons running and households afloat. Some have turned to creative side work, from tutoring and selling baked goods online to learning how digital finance works through tools like a forex trading app. These are not acts of luxury but survival strategies that reveal the widening gap between government promises and the reality inside schools.
The scandal that sparked public outrage began when the Commission on Audit flagged irregularities in multiple flood-control projects across Metro Manila and Central Luzon. By late September 2025, tens of thousands of Filipinos filled the streets of Manila, Quezon City, and Davao demanding accountability from infrastructure agencies. The Guardian reported that protesters carried banners calling for transparency and justice after engineers and whistle-blowers revealed that ghost projects drained at least 45 billion pesos from the national budget. For teachers, the headlines about corruption were not distant political noise but a reminder that every wasted peso could have been used to improve classrooms, buy supplies, or upgrade rural schools still waiting for basic internet connectivity.
In the 2025 national budget hearings, education officials admitted that funding priorities had shifted amid competing infrastructure demands. DepEd’s allocation reached about 758 billion pesos, which sounds enormous until divided among 47 million students and 900 000 teachers. When inflation still eats away at take-home pay, the number on paper feels far smaller. According to the Asian Development Bank’s September 30 2025 update, the Philippine economy is expected to grow by 5.6 percent this year, but that recovery hides the reality of higher costs for families. Inflation may have eased to 1.8 percent nationally, yet the price of rice, fuel, and rent remains stubborn for ordinary wage earners. Teachers continue to shoulder classroom expenses such as chalk, printing, and mobile data without reimbursement.
Inside many public schools, personal sacrifice has become part of the lesson plan. A teacher in Quezon City interviewed by local reporters shared that she spends nearly one fifth of her salary on materials for her students. She joked that every payday feels like a budget exam with no correct answer. Another teacher from Cebu explained that her electricity bill rose by a third because of the online modules she prints and scans at home. These stories repeat across the archipelago with regional differences but one shared feeling of frustration.
The current salary structure illustrates why so many educators look for extra income. Under the 2025 grade schedule a Teacher I earns about 30 024 pesos monthly while a Teacher III receives 34 421 pesos. Even with allowances the numbers lag behind the real cost of living, especially for teachers renting in cities or supporting extended families. The Alliance of Concerned Teachers and the Philippine Public School Teachers Association have both renewed calls for an across-the-board pay hike, pointing out that the recent scandal makes talk of “no available funds” harder to accept. They argue that government priorities must match the rhetoric of valuing education.
When wages stall and bills climb, creativity replaces comfort. Many teachers have found second or even third sources of income. Some tutor students abroad through online platforms; others sell handmade crafts or baked goods to parents and colleagues. A few have joined digital learning groups exploring financial literacy, from savings apps to the cautious use of a forex trading app, hoping to understand global currencies and basic investment principles. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the Securities and Exchange Commission continue to warn citizens to verify any platform before using it, reminding everyone that legitimate financial education is different from get-rich-quick trading. Still, the interest reflects a broader desire among educators to keep pace with a fast-changing economy.
Beyond the financial stress lies an emotional toll that is harder to measure. Public school teachers describe exhaustion that builds slowly through years of multitasking as instructors, counselors, and community leaders. The 2025 protests made many reflect on how national politics touches the classroom. When corruption dominates the news, students ask questions that require moral answers, not just academic ones. Teachers are expected to model integrity while coping with systems that often fail them. Mental health support exists on paper through DepEd programs, but access remains uneven. Some schools have peer-support groups led by volunteers who organize weekend meetups to share stories and coping strategies. Their quiet solidarity fills the gap that policy leaves open.
Despite these challenges, hope still appears in small victories. Several regional offices have begun pilot programs linking public schools with local businesses that donate supplies or sponsor internet access. DepEd has continued its Digital Literacy for Teachers initiative, aiming to train 200 000 educators by mid-2026 in data management, online safety, and new classroom technologies. In some provinces local governments allocate modest bonuses from real-property tax shares to reward outstanding educators. These acts do not erase systemic problems but show that solutions are possible when communities participate honestly.
The broader lesson of 2025 may not be about corruption alone but about endurance. The Filipino teacher has once again proven to be the backbone of public trust even as institutions bend. Each scandal and budget delay highlight the gap between rhetoric and reality, yet teachers continue to prepare lessons, print modules, and mentor students with the same patience that the nation’s reformers once admired. The protests will eventually fade from headlines, the investigations may stall or succeed, and new policies will replace the old. But inside every classroom, the daily act of teaching remains the most consistent service the government can offer its people.
When budgets fail teachers adjust, not because they should have to, but because they believe the next generation deserves stability even when the system cannot provide it. The resilience of educators has become a quiet protest of its own, a living reminder that national progress begins with those who keep showing up, chalk in one hand and faith in the other.
– The Guardian, “Protesters flood streets of Philippines over state corruption,” Sept 21 2025
– Asian Development Bank, “Philippine GDP Seen on a Steady Growth Path in 2025, 2026,” Sept 30 2025
– Philippine Statistics Authority, monthly inflation bulletin 2025
– Philippinego, “Public Teacher Salary Grade 2025 | Comprehensive Guide”