State workers in Executive Dept to get ₧10K benefit

QUALIFIED government workers employed in the Executive Department will soon be getting a one-time P10,000 service recognition incentive (SRI).

This after President Duterte issued Administrative Order (AO) No. 45 granting the said benefit to civilian personnel in the national government agencies (NGA), state universities and colleges (SUCS) and government-owned or controlled corporations (GOCC), occupying regular, contractual or casual positions.

It will also apply to personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine National Police (PNP), Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), and the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (Namria).

To qualify for the incentive pay, the personnel must still be in government service as of November 30, 2021 and must not have received any additional yearend benefit for fiscal year 2021 over and above the benefit authorized under Republic Act 6686.

They will get the full amount if they have rendered an aggregate of four months of satisfactory service as of the said cutoff period.

Those who worked less than four months as of November 30, 2021 will be entitled to a pro-rated SRI ranging from 10 to 40 percent of the amount depending on their length of service.

The SRI must be paid to all qualified government employees “not... earlier than December 21, 2021.”

Excluded from the SRA are those engaged without employer-employee relationship and whose compensation is funded from non-personnel Services appropriations/budgets.

The fund for the SRI will be sourced from Personnel Services allotments under the 2021 General Appropriations Act, Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses, and corporate operating budgets.

AO 45 also allows legislative and judicial departments and other offices vestedwithfiscalautonomytogivethe Sritotheirworkersupontheapproval of their respective heads of office at a uniform rate not exceeding P10,000.

The issuance was signed on December 24, 2021, but was only released to the media last Monday.

It will take effect immediately after publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.