Noy orders early release of mid-year bonus, cash gifts

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino ordered yesterday the early disbursement of bonus and cash gifts for the 1.1 million government workers, in time for the resumption of classes in June.

In a statement, Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. said the President ordered the payment in advance of half of the year-end bonus and cash gift to civil servants under Memorandum Order No. 14.

“The President acknowledges the fact that the compensation of government employees is not at par with their counterparts in the private sector, so he recognizes the need to fast-track improvement to the pay scale of those in the bureaucracy,” he said.

Ochoa said funding for the bonus equivalent to half of one month’s basic salary and half of the P5,000 cash gift had been made available by the Department of Budget and Management to government agencies for distribution since May 1.

“The early release of the mid-year bonus should benefit government personnel who need to take care of expenses usually incurred at this time of the year, like tuition for the enrollment of children of civil servants,” Ochoa said.

Also, starting June 1 or a month ahead of schedule, all employees and officials of the government would be getting the third tranche of their salary increases pursuant to the Salary Standardization Law III.

This is contained in Executive Order 40 President Aquino signed, approving the release of the salary adjustment in June instead of July.

All civil servants are entitled to the third installment of their salary adjustments.

EO 40 specifically states that all employees in the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches of government, constitutional commissions or offices, state universities and colleges, government-owned and controlled corporations and financial institutions, and local government units whether regular, casual, contractual, appointive or elective on full-time or part-time basis, are covered by the salary increase.

Salary adjustments also include military personnel of the Department of National Defense and uniformed personnel under the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Philippine Coast Guard, and National Mapping and Resources Information Authority.

The second installment was implemented on June 24, 2010 for personnel in national government agencies and Jan. 1, 2011 for local government units.

Bonus for PNP

The 135,000 members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) will soon receive their mid-year bonus, a police official said yesterday.

Director Rey Lañada, PNP Director for Comptrollership, said the mid-year bonus represents 50 percent of the mandatory 13th month pay and other cash benefits.

It will be paid in the form of individual checks drawn from the PNP account with the Land Bank of the Philippines.

Lañada added that the other half of the 13th month pay is due in December.

According to Lañada, fiscal reforms initiated by the PNP under the Integrated Transformation Program has allowed the agency to settle its outstanding obligations representing prior year claims in pay and allowances amounting P335 million in 2010.