Budget delay imperils salary hike for government workers

The salary increase promised to some 1.1 million government workers is in peril because of the delay in the passage of the 2006 national budget.

Sen. Manuel Villar, chairman of the Senate committee on finance, warned the House of Representatives that the impasse in the deliberations of the budget bill would impact on the plan to grant a salary increase to state workers.

As public servants, Villar advised his former colleagues at the House to speed up deliberations to avoid the impact on government workers.

Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr., chairman of the House appropriations committee, however, gave assurances that government employees will get their pay hike next year even if the budget is enacted as late as March or April.

"The date of the signing of the budget will have no effect on the date of effectivity of the salary increase, which is Jan. 1," Andaya said, explaining that the salary adjustment will be retroactive to the beginning of the year.

He added that the increase would be given in a lump sum once the 2006 General Appropriations Act is enacted.

Sen. Ralph Recto also said the 2006 budget can be signed before February or March but the pay hike for government employees should be retroactive to Jan. 1.

He said the proposed P1.053-trillion 2006 budget provides "funding cover for the whole fiscal year, so it does not matter when it will be signed."

"The pay hike is not affected by the law’s date of effectivity," he said.

Some P13.1 billion has been included in the P1.053-trillion budget for 2006 for the salary increase of state workers.

While the mechanics of how this fund will be allocated have yet to be finalized by the Department of Budget and Management, the agency said the increase will be equivalent to eight percent of each worker’s present pay.

Villar cautioned though that the P13.1 billion intended for the pay hike of state employees may also not be reached because of proposed cuts in the appropriations.

During a brief visit and chat with the editors and reporters of The STAR at the office in Port Area, Manila Thursday evening, Villar said he would prefer to increase the workers’ benefits package and incentives for government retirees.

"What is a thousand-peso increase when we can try to work out better benefits for our workers?" the senator said.

Villar earlier said he wanted to slash the budget by at least P25 billion, particularly the allotment for new appropriations such as the so-called "Kilos-Asenso" and Freedom funds.

The slow-paced action of the House of Representatives on the 2006 General Appropriations Act would likely mean a reenacted budget, a view the senator shares with Senate President Franklin Drilon.

Both Drilon and Villar agree that the budget for next year will be passed by early March.

"Although we have looked into the budget proposals of several agencies already, we cannot formally act on it or start the drafting of the committee report since the budget remains pending at the lower house," Villar said.

The Senate canceled a scheduled hearing Friday on the budget of the Office of the President and the Office of the Press Secretary for undisclosed reasons.

Last Wednesday, the Senate also suspended hearings on the budget of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) after some senators requested more time to review the agency’s performance and proposed budget for next year.

The Senate has convened into a Committee on the Whole to speed up the budget hearings. But the deliberations came side-by-side with hearings on the "Hello, Garci" wiretapping scandal, the P728-million fertilizer fund scam and workshops on the proposed Anti-Terrorism Bill.

Some senators though prefer a reenacted budget to keep the financing deficit down. According to their estimates, operating on a budget of only about P907.6 billion plus increased revenues due to the imposition of the expanded value-added tax (EVAT) will bring down the financing gap to P100 billion or less.

Proponents of a reenacted budget also argued that much of the increase in the national outlay could be lost to corrupt officials anyway.

They are proposing that if the government operates next year on the basis of this year’s spending level, a supplemental budget could be enacted to cover the increase in the allowance of state workers. — Christina Mendez, Jess Diaz