Gov’t allots P30.6 B for productivity enhancement

The government has set aside P30.6 billion for its productivity enhancement program which rewards qualified government employees who exceed their financial and operational targets.

Government personnel who achieved at least 90 percent of their performance target for 2014, will receive a bonus equivalent to one-month salary on or before June 1. This follows the signing by President Aquino of EO 181, which mandated the early release of their productive enhancement initiative.

Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said the approval of the PEI for government employees is part of the administration’s drive to strengthen public service within the bureaucracy.

“Our civil servants are behind every measure that has fueled greater economic growth and governance reform in the country. President Aquino signed this EO precisely because he understands that good performance must be recognized and encouraged, especially among our government employees,” Abad said.

The bonus will cover all civilian personnel occupying regular, contractual, and casual positions, or those who have employee-employer relationships with their respective agencies. It will also cover all military personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Department of National Defense.

Others covered are the uniformed personnel of the Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection, and Bureau of Jail Management and Penology under the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the Philippine Coast Guard, and the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority.

The one-time grant also cover employees from Congress; the Judiciary; the Civil Service Commission; the Commission on Elections; Office of the Ombudsman; government owned or controlled corporations; local water districts; government financial institutions; and local government units.

To receive the bonus, local water districts should have a positive net balance in the average net income for the 12 months of operations prior to May 31, 2014.

Meanwhile, LGUs should comply with the requirements laid out under the Good Financial Housekeeping component of the FY 2014 Seal of Good Local Governance.

If an agency can not fulfill any of these requirements, its employees will receive a fixed amount of only P5,000 as their PEI.