Government employees to get bonus

President Arroyo ordered yesterday the grant of a P5,000 performance bonus to all government employees, whether permanent or temporary, and to those working for government-owned or controlled corporations.

Under Administrative Order No. 131, Mrs. Arroyo authorized the release of at least P5.3 billion for the country’s estimated 1.3 million civil servants, among them teachers, soldiers and policemen.

Mrs. Arroyo said the performance bonus must be given not later than today.

The bonus would not be paid in installments, Budget Secretary Romulo Neri said.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita told reporters yesterday Mrs. Arroyo is also expected to issue an executive order (EO) before Christmas, extending non-wage benefits to government workers.

"Also, concessional loans (will) be given by the DBP (Development Bank of the Philippines) so that buses can be acquired, and this will be used by government employees because many are complaining that transportation is very expensive," he said.

Ermita said the draft EO was prepared by Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas, and that he would submit the document to Mrs. Arroyo within the week.

"All personnel of national government agencies, including GOCCs, government financial institutions, whether permanent, temporary, casual and on a contractual basis, who have rendered at least four months of service as of Nov. 30, 2005, are entitled to receive a PerB (performance bonus) in the amount not to exceed P5,000 each," read the draft AO.

Under the executive order, government workers who have rendered less than four months of service as of Nov. 30 this year shall also be entitled to the performance bonus on a pro-rated basis.

Those who have served three months but less than four months would receive 40 percent of the bonus; two months but less than three months, 30 percent; one month but less than two months, 20 percent; less than one month, 10 percent.

The performance bonus for national government employees, except constitutional offices and fiscally autonomous agencies, would be taken from unreleased appropriations for the year and available net savings as reported by departments and agencies as of Nov. 30.

Constitutional offices and fiscally autonomous agencies would source the funds from their savings, while GOCCs and GFIs would take the amount from their various funds.

GOCCs and GFIs, which lack funds, may give the performance bonus in installments, provided that the partial payment would be uniform for all positions. — Paolo Romero