DOLE: Up to P13.7-B needed to subsidize 13th month pay of small firms

MANILA, Philippines — The labor department estimates that the government would need to shell out up to P13.7 billion for a proposal to subsidize small firms so that they would be able to give their employees their 13th month pay.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III told reporters in an online briefing on Friday that the proposed subsidy would cost the government from P5 billion to P13.7 billion, depending on whether one would use data from his agency or from the Philippine Statistics Authority to compute for the subsidy.

Bello said they would have to reconcile the data when they propose the subsidy to the Office of the President and the Office of the Executive Secretary.

He added that he has presented the idea to the Interagency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, which has come to an agreement on it, but he refused to disclose whether they approved of the proposed subsidy or not.

Should the subsidy push through, Bello said small firms needing the cash assistance would need to apply for it.

“They need to prove that they are either micro- and small business establishments that suffered losses,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino.

An alternative to the proposed subsidy is for government banks to offer loans to companies strained by the economic contraction brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.

The labor department is expected to come out with a department order on the payment of the 13th month pay on Friday.

Bello made it clear during the Laging Handa briefing aired Thursday on state television PTV-4 that all firms must pay their employees the mandated holiday benefit on or before December 24.