State agencies get P832 M from DBM for performance-based bonuses

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has turned over P831.8 million in funds  to several departments and agencies, state colleges and universities (SUCs), and government-owned or controlled corporations (GOCCs).

The money would cover the performance-based bonus (PBB) of qualified employees of SUCs and GOCCs.

“Since the administration launched the merit-based bonus scheme in December 2012, the DBM has been receiving and processing submissions from departments and agencies as efficiently as possible, in line with the PBB’s goal of rewarding excellent work among our government employees,” DBM Secretary Florencio B. Abad said.

Of the total amount, P806.1 million has already been authorized for release by the Governance Commission for GOCCs.

Another P25.7 million has also been remitted to five agencies and three SUCs for the merit-based incentives of 2,780 officials and employees.

The DBM also confirmed that the Department of Health (DOH) and the Laguna State Polytechnic College have already complied with all their requirements, and that their releases are currently being processed by DBM.

DOH is the first major government agency to have fully complied with the PBB requirements, with 25,307 employees eligible for the PBB.

“I enjoin other agencies and departments to complete their submissions to the DBM. This will allow us to facilitate the quick release of their PBBs, and ultimately, ensure that their employees receive the bonuses due them,” Abad said.

The PBB is one of the components of the administration’s performance-based incentive system (PBIS), an incentive program that recognizes and rewards exemplary performance in government. It aims to improve the delivery of goods and services to all Filipinos, as well as institute a culture of excellence in public service across the bureaucracy.

Under the PBIS, qualified agencies that submitted all compliance reports on time would be assessed, provided they meet at least 90 percent of their targets for the year. Agencies are also required to fulfill all the good governance conditions set by the inter-agency task force on the harmonization of the national government performance monitoring, information and reporting systems.

Employees ranked as “Best” in a best-performing bureau would receive as much as P35,000, while under-performers — those who were unable to meet at least 90 percent of their individual targets, or employees in a poorly ranked bureau —would not be eligible for PBB.

In releasing the PBB, the DBM emphasized the need for qualified departments and agencies to establish grievance mechanisms that would allow them to respond to employees’ feedback.

“Because the PBB is a new initiative, we have much to learn on implementing it with greater efficiency. Part of this fine-tuning process is the establishment of grievance mechanisms within agencies, specifically to give employees the chance to provide honest feedback on the execution of the program,” Abad said.