Court workers reminded of performance-based bonus

TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines — Under the newly introduced strategic performance management system (SPMS), all employees of the government will have to serve their respective positions in order to get at least a passing rate.

Supreme Court employees—down the first and second level trial courts—are not exempt from the operation of the SPMS, a new scheme designed by the Civil Service Commission to ensure who will be qualified to receive the annual performance-based bonus (PBB).

Lawyer Aristeo Franklin Garcia, chief of staff of SC Deputy Court Administrator Thelma Bahia, issued this reminder during the regional roll-out of SPMS in Eastern Visayas held at the Bulwagan ng Katarungan in Tacloban City. Bahia was present during the roll-out.

Garcia said an employee could get the PBB equivalent to one-month salary if he or she gets the required rating prescribed by the SPMS. The rate is 130 percent of a worker’s target, in the major final output (MFO), but lower than this will correspondingly reduce the amount of the PBB.

Under the SPMS, the entitlement to a full amount of PBB demands an outstanding rate of 130 percent of the total target. A lower rate obtained by only one employee as against the perfect score of all others will pull down the general rating of the entire group of employees in one office or unit.

The agency or office should also get an average outstanding rating to make its employees qualify after all the final ratings of each staff are computed all together, said Garcia, but added that an exemption to this is when the position is being served by the employee, besides his or her own, is vacant.

“You can give additional function that refers to another item as long as that item is vacant, but the situation is different when the staff is complete but one cannot function in his position because he is incompetent to do so,” Garcia said.

“Under the SPMS, it is not anymore allowed. So now, the target that will be indicated in the form pertains to your own position,” he said, as he warned all lower court employees in the Visayas to strive to achieve the highest rate in order not to affect the ratings of co-workers.

Holding multiple functions, however, will mitigate the negative effect on the employee’s being able to get perfect score in his major final outputs. All the functions being held by the employee should be given MFOs, including those in his own item or position in the office.

Garcia said additional functions do not entitle the employee additional bonus but it will serve as mitigating factor in his favor. “In the event that you cannot achieve your target for the original position, but the fact that you are doing multiple or dual positions will provide a reason why the target for the original position has not been met,” he said.

Garcia encouraged all judges to create their respective performance management team in their individual salas, which will be responsible to rate all the employees under it.

Any protest on the rating made will be elevated to the OCA-PMT for final resolution of the controversy. Garcia appealed to all court employees and judges to give the new SPMS to ultimately work for the improvement of the judiciary’s service to the public. (FREEMAN)