03/08/2026
Who Should Be Prioritized?
Every year, thousands of Filipinos dream of becoming public school teachers. They spend years in college, pass the Licensure Examination for Professional Teachers, and patiently wait for the opportunity to stand before a classroom. Yet many remain unemployed, waiting for a vacancy that may never come.
Then come the returning Overseas Filipino Worker teachers.
They return with years of teaching experience, international exposure, and a sincere desire to serve the country they once left behind. They have sacrificed time with their families, adapted to foreign cultures, and helped educate children in other nations. It is only natural for many to believe that their experience deserves recognition.
But should experience abroad automatically place them ahead of those who never left?
The answer is no.
A public school teaching position is not a reward for sacrifice. It is a responsibility entrusted to the most qualified individual. While international experience is undeniably valuable, it should be one factor among many, not a ticket to the front of the line.
Likewise, passing the LET should not be treated as an automatic guarantee of employment. A license proves eligibility, not superiority. If every passer expected immediate appointment, the government would have to create tens of thousands of new positions every year, an impossible task under existing resources.
The uncomfortable truth is that the country does not suffer from a shortage of qualified teachers. It suffers from a shortage of teaching positions. Thousands of aspiring educators compete for a limited number of vacancies, forcing excellent applicants to wait for years regardless of whether they are fresh graduates or returning OFWs.
This is why the debate itself misses the point.
Why should teachers fight one another for opportunities that should never have been this scarce?
Returning OFWs are not the enemy of waiting LET passers. Neither are LET passers the obstacle to returning OFWs. Both are victims of the same problem: an education system struggling to provide enough opportunities for qualified educators despite the growing needs of Filipino learners.
The real challenge before policymakers is not deciding who deserves priority. It is building a hiring system that rewards competence, values experience, remains transparent, and expands opportunities for all deserving teachers.
When teachers begin competing against one another, students lose. But when government invests in more classrooms, more teaching positions, and a fair hiring process, everyone benefits.
The question, therefore, is no longer โWho should be prioritized?โ
The question should be โWhy are we forcing two deserving groups of teachers to compete when the nation needs both?โ
