By Brian Jules Campued
Qualified government employees will receive their mid-year bonus starting May 15, Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Sec. Amenah Pangandaman announced Monday.
“Good news po! So, tomorrow ipapalabas na po — I mean nasa kanila na po ang cash. So, tomorrow po, mari-receive na po ng mga government employees ang kanilang midyear bonus po,” Pangandaman said in a palace press briefing.
The mid-year bonus is equal to a government worker’s one-month basic pay given to eligible personnel who have worked at least four months from July 1 of the previous year to May 15 of the current year.
Aside from being currently employed in the government, the DBM chief clarified that the employee should have received at least satisfactory performance rating in their most recent rating period or applicable performance appraisal period.
The mid-year incentive will be provided to civilian personnel, including regular, casual, and contractual employees, as well as the uniformed personnel.
“Kasama rin dito ang mga appointive o elective positions, maging full-time o part-time, sa mga sangay ng Executive, Legislative, at Judicial branches, Constitutional Commissions, ibang pang Constitutional Offices, State Universities and Colleges, at Government-Owned or -Controlled Corporations na sakop ng Compensation and Position Classification System, pati na rin ang mga local government units,” according to a DBM statement.
The DBM also said the allocation of mid-year bonuses for employees in provinces, cities, municipalities, and barangays will be determined by their respective boards or councils, subject to policy conditions for the purpose under DBM Budget Circular No. 2017-2.
Pangandaman, likewise, reminded all government agencies and offices to “ensure the prompt and timely release of bonuses to their employees”.
Meanwhile, the DBM chief expressed optimism that the Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG) will file its midterm report regarding the “Compensation and Benefits Study in the Public Sector” on the proposed salary increase to all government workers.
“We have been very consistent po na gusto po natin magbigay ng increase ng salary para sa ating government workers. Kung maalala ninyo po, we provided 40 million pesos to GCG para po kumuha ng third party to study po kung ano iyong amount, anong klaseng increase ang puwede nating ibigay at saka kung gaano po kalaki iyong increase na ibibigay natin,” Pangandaman said.
“So, hopefully po — nagbigay na po sila ng midterm report, hopefully, by June we’ll have the final report po,” she added.
In a statement on May 7, Pangandaman said the study aims to set a competitive and financially stable compensation package for government personnel in response to the rising cost of basic commodities and services in the Philippines.
“The proposed compensation adjustment should consider not only the inflation rates and cost of living adjustments, but also standard market practices to ensure that working in government remains desirable and comparable to working in the private sector,” the Budget secretary said. – avds
