Quezon City workers to get Christmas bonus soon

It’s going to be a merry Christmas for at least 5,000 permanent Quezon City Hall employees after Mayor Feliciano "Sonny" Belmonte, Jr., earmarked some P55 million for their Yuletide bonuses.

Belmonte has directed the city’s budget, accounting, and treasury offices to release all available funds necessary for the payment of the benefits.

Of the amount, P40 million shall be allocated for the remaining half of the 13th month pay while the remaining P15 million shall be for half of the P5,000 cash gift. City Hall employees received the first half of their bonuses last May.

Personnel who have rendered less than four months of service, from July 1 to Oct. 31, 2001, shall receive a pro-rated cash gift.

Aside from the employees, all elected city officials are also entitled to receive their benefits. However, consultants, national government personnel assigned to the city government, and those under preventive suspension are excluded from receiving 13th month pay and cash gifts from the city government.

Contractual employees, who normally are not qualified to receive such incentives from local governments, may also receive a Christmas bonus after three city councilors filed an ordinance to grant them such a benefit.

Some 1,500 contractual employees each stand to receive a P3,000 Christmas bonus if the measure authored by councilors Vincent Crisologo, Jesus Suntay, and Elizabeth Delarmante would be approved.

The measure is said to be given priority when the city council resumes session today.

However, only employees who have rendered one year of continuous service are entitled to the full amount while those who have been in service for less than a year will receive a pro-rated bonus. – Nikko Dizon