DBM to release funds for weathermen's benefits

MANILA, Philippines - Budget Secretary Florencio Abad announced yesterday that that Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) employees would receive their overdue benefits.

Abad said the weather bureau workers would get the perks due them for the first semester of the year under Republic Act 8439, or the Magna Carta for Scientists, Engineers, Researchers and Other Science and Technology Personnel in Government, which provides that concerned employees should receive benefits, longevity and hazard pay and SALA (subsistence allowance and laundry allowance).

Under the Magna Carta applicable to PAGASA workers, employees are entitled to a daily subsistence allowance of P150, while an additional P500 is provided for their monthly laundry expenses.

Longevity pay for each worker is calculated as five percent of an employee’s monthly basic pay for every five years of service, while hazard pay comprises 15 percent of a PAGASA employee’s basic monthly pay.

Abad said, however, that the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) would strictly enforce the guidelines in the 2012 General Appropriations Act (GAA) for the release of Magna Carta benefits in the second semester.

“As instructed by the President, the DBM will provide the necessary budget support to cover all allowances for PAGASA employees in the first half of 2012. However, we intend to strictly enforce the rules on Magna Carta perks in the second semester, particularly those governing the release of hazard and longevity pay,” Abad said.

He cited the frequent violation of rules set for the provision of Magna Carta perks, especially for the release of hazard pay to PAGASA employees.

“For example, PAGASA currently provides hazard allowances for its employees across the board – whether or not they are exposed to risks in the course of their duties – in clear violation of the law and their own guidelines. We need to confirm which employees, by the nature of their work, are entitled to hazard pay, as well as when they’re supposed to receive this,” Abad said.

Abad and Science and Technology Secretary Mario Montejo have agreed to identify the employees who are entitled to hazard pay.

“As President Aquino said to PAGASA employees, not everyone working for the agency is in a situation of risk. More importantly, not all employees who are entitled to hazard pay are actually exposed to constant, daily risk,” Abad said.

Abad said in 2013, the Aquino administration would recognize all Magna Carta benefits for PAGASA-DOST employees in the GAA to provide assured funding sources for these perks.

“The biggest change in 2013 is the recognition of Magna Carta perks – as they should be implemented – as an item in the GAA. In other words, the allocation for these benefits will no longer be consigned to a lump sum fund in the national budget, and the appropriations for Magna Carta benefits will become specific budgetary items. This way, we can ensure funding certainty for perks because they will already be provided for in the GAA,” he said.

He also noted that the existing benefits system required an agency to source its hazard and longevity pay from yearend savings.

However, agencies often realign their allocations for Personal Services (PS) and Maintenance and Other Operating Expenditures (MOOE) to augment alleged savings, which are usually insufficient for supporting Magna Carta perks.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said that there would be no disturbance in weather forecasting despite some gripes of the PAGASA personnel as the DBM announced it would release the hazard pay and other perks of the agency’s employees.

Lacierda said the weathermen themselves, despite protests, committed not to jeopardize public welfare as weather forecasters.

“They guaranteed the public that they will not abandon their posts,” Lacierda said. “We’re now studying the ways through which we can make the release of Magna Carta benefits more efficient. As much as we need to protect the interests of the country’s public servants, we ought to do so in a legal, transparent, and responsible fashion,” he added. 

PAGASA employees assure public

PAGASA officials assured the public yesterday that the operations at the weather bureau would not be disrupted despite Tuesday’s protest of the agency’s employees over their unpaid benefits.

“We assure the public that operations at PAGASA will continue,” PAGASA administrator Nathaniel Servando said in an interview with the ABS-CBN News Channel.

Servando said the low-ranking employees of the weather bureau are the most affected by the suspension of the benefits under the Magna Carta for science workers.

He said low-ranking PAGASA employees have been losing at least P5,000 worth of benefits per month.

Members of the Philippine Weathermen Employees Association (PWEA) held a protest on Tuesday after the government failed to fulfill their promise to reinstate by August their guaranteed benefits.

The protest apparently prompted President Aquino to make a surprise visit to the PAGASA head office in Quezon City on Tuesday afternoon.

Aquino assured the PAGASA personnel that the government is working to address their concerns.

Montejo said PAGASA weather forecasters could expect to get their overdue benefits in two weeks.

PAGASA is an agency of the DOST.

Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño said PAGASA workers have the right to protest since the law entitles them to receive hazard pay, longevity, laundry, and subsistence allowances.

“We need to recognize the heroic efforts of our weather bureau workers, not just through words but through concrete actions. They should be given their rightful and lawful benefits,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) expressed support for PAGASA employees who staged a protest over suspended cash benefits. Reports said a PAGASA employee earns P12,000 a month after working at the agency for 16 years and another died because he had no money for his diabetes medication.

“We are revolted to learn that employees working to bring us news of typhoons are being devastated by their employer, the government,” said Elmer Labog, KMU chairman, in a statement.

The KMU criticized the President for lecturing PAGASA employees about their duties while refusing to give a date as to when they will get their benefits back. 

“He should stop lecturing PAGASA employees about their duty to the nation amidst the typhoon season and start addressing the demands of these government employees,” Labog said. – With Helen Flores, Jess Diaz, Sandy Araneta