Gov’t workers set to get bonus

Government personnel are getting their midyear bonus tomorrow, exactly one week after the May 9 elections.

The grant of the bonus is mandated under Executive Order ( EO) 201, which President Aquino issued on Feb. 19 to fulfill a promise to increase government salaries.

“Government workers will receive the bonus on Monday,” Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said in a text message yesterday.

He said the incentive could not be given last Friday, which was payday, because EO 201 provides that its payment

should not be earlier than May 15.

Abad is encouraging agencies to pay the bonus within next week, if they could not do it on Monday.

The bonus grant covers all state workers, including those of local government units and government corporations.

Apart from the midye a r gr ant , which is equivalent to one-month salary, EO 201 provides for a yearend performance incentive.

Despite the salary increase and incentives Aquino’s order provides, many government workers did not vote for his preferred successor, former local government secretary Manuel Roxas II.

Those interviewed by The

STAR last Monday said they did not have to repay Aquino’s gesture, since they are entitled to a salary increase and the adjustment the President ordered comes from taxpayers’ money.

The greater majority of state workers will get their midyear bonus in full and tax-free.

Under the law, bonuses and incentives of up to P82,000 a year are exempt from income tax.

Aquino, Vice President Jejomar Binay, incumbent members of Congress and Cabinet officials are not receiving a salary increase and midyear bonus, as EO 201 does not cover them.

It is their successors who will benefit from the pay hike and midyear and yearend incentives.

Based on the increased salary rates under EO 201, government personnel holding Salary Grades 1 to 28 will receive a tax- free midyear bonus.

Salary Grade 1 is the pay level of the lowest-paid employee. It provides a basic monthly salary of P9,478, up by P478 from the previous P9,000.

Grade 28 is the salary rate of a bureau director and those with equivalent rank. It pays P80,760 a month, up by P13,076, which is about one-and-ahalf times the basic pay of the lowestpaid worker.

Incom ing members of the Cabinet and Congress will receive P117,086 a month. They hold Salary Grade 31. The old rates for this pay grade ranged from P90,000 to P97,163.

Undersecretaries hold Salary Grade 30, which provides for an increased basic monthly pay of P96,345 to P104,984 depending on the length of service.

They used to get P78,946 to P85,230.

Salary Grade 29 is the pay level of assistant secretaries, who now receive from P88,214 to P9 6 , 11 3 , up from the previous range of P73,099 to P78,916.