The Noise of Financial Distress: Textural and Structural Composites of Filipino Teachers` Indebtedness

Abstract

Qualitative researches on Filipino teachers` indebtedness remains to be scarce. In addition, empirical studies that delved into the indebtedness of teachers whose minimum Net Take Home Pay (NTHP) below five thousand pesos (₱5,000.00) has been a gap in the literatures. Thus, in this paper, the researcher using a descriptive phenomenological approach, explored into the experiences of public teachers with NTHP lower than mandated threshold in order to have in-depth understanding on the complexities of teachers` indebtedness. Twenty teacher participants were selected through purposive sampling methods. The findings illuminated that the experiences of the study participants are intricate and multidimensional. These experiences are: (a) profoundly shaped by ingrained Filipino moral virtues such as bahala na and utang na loob; (b) precipitated by familial obligations and occupational expenditure patterns; (c) deleterious to the participants’ overall well-being and quality of life; and (d) attributable to the inadequacy of governmental assistance, insufficiency of remuneration, and the paucity of institutional financial resources. In light of these circumstances, there arises an imperative call for the formulation and institutionalization of comprehensive legislative and policy measures to mitigate, if not eradicate, this socioeconomic predicament that hampered Filipino teachers` wellbeing.