Comelec personnel to protest bonus cuts

MANILA, Philippines - The rank and file employees of the Commission on Elections nationwide will wear black shirts or armbands starting Friday to protest the substantial cuts in the Productivity Enhancement Incentives (PEI) for government employees and the administration’s Performance Based Bonus (PBB) which they tagged as "deceptive."

"Poll workers join fellow employees in the public sector in denouncing the drastic cut in our Productivity Enhancement Incentive. We also add our voices to the growing clamor for the junking of the planned Performance Based Bonus for government workers,"Mac Ramirez, president of the Comelec-Employees Union, said.

Ramirez said that instead of P10,000, workers in the public sector will only receive P5,000 in their PEI this year.

He said that the P5,000 cut in the incentive will have a heavy impact on their families this Christmas season especially in light of their already meager salaries and skyrocketing costs of basic goods and necessities.

He added that the drastic cut on their PEI is due to the Administration’s Performance Based Bonus.

He said that the government reduced the PEI because, according to the Department of Budget and Management, public sector workers will be given PBB anyway.

"It must be noted that not all workers in government will receive the much ballyhooed maximum amount of P35,000 in PBB. Only 10 percent of the employees in agencies tagged as 'best' performing will stand to receive the maximum incentive. Much more, the PBB will only promote individualism among the workforce as this will only fuel the palakasan and sipsip mentality among our ranks," Ramirez said.

Employees of the poll body have been clamoring for the immediate adjustment of their salaries becasue wages they received are not at par with those received by employees in other government agencies and constitutional bodies. - Dennis Carcamo