CSC hails government efforts to increase benefits of workers

MANILA, Philippines - Civil Service Commission (CSC) Chairman Francisco Duque III hailed yesterday Malacañang’s effort to offer more benefits and incentives to state officials and employees that the national government’s Rationalization Program had affected.

“We commend Macalacañang for issuing the EO,” he said. “It will be very good for the state workers.”

President Aquino has issued Executive Order No. 77 making the computation for the incentives of government personnel that the Rationalization Program has affected to be based on their salary as of Dec. 31, 2011 instead of June 30, 2007.

Five years ago, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo issued Executive Order No. 366 requiring government agencies to submit rationalization plans to cleanse the bureaucracy of redundant or unnecessary positions, Duque said.

Those affected will not simply lose their jobs because they will be given the option to either fill in other vacancies, move to another agency, or avail of early retirement.

Duque said with the updated computation, those who avail of early retirement will get bigger separation or retirement pay, while those transferring to other posts or government offices will still have the same pay.

“This is better, affected officials and personnel will get better benefits due them based on their current salary and not based on their income in 2007,” he said.

Many government agencies have submitted rationalization plans since 2004 to the Department of Budget and Management, which can provide more details about the same, Duque said.

Affirming the administration’s drive for improved public service and fair compensation for government workers, Aquino has directed the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to upgrade incentives for all employees affected by the rationalization program.

Aquino gave the green light for amendments to key provisions of EO 637, which provides the basis for determining the incentives for personnel affected by the government’s rationalization plan.

Under EO 77, rationalization incentives will now be computed using the latest monthly salary of affected employees, instead of their pay as of June 30, 2007.

Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said Aquino’s directive is welcome news for all public servants that the rationalization program has affected.

“Even as we aim to reorganize our agencies to improve employee efficiency and the effectiveness of our services, we also want to be fair in compensating government workers who have long served the public,” he said.

Abad said a DBM study showed that employees subject to rationalization are more likely to choose retirement or separation if their incentives will be computed based on their updated monthly salary.

“Because the monthly pay for government workers has increased since 2007, the incentives due them should likewise reflect these changes. Commodity prices and the cost of living have also jumped considerably in the last five years. These should be accounted for when we implement the rationalization program for all affected employees,” he said.

The DBM said funding for employee incentives based on June 30, 2007 salaries will require only P4.10 billion, while incentives computed using current salaries will amount to P6.23 billion. Funding for the rationalization program in all regular government agencies will be provided by the national government and will be charged against appropriate funds, the DBM added.

Meanwhile, incentives for affected personnel in government-owned or controlled corporations (GOCCs) and government financial institutions (GFIs) will be sourced from their respective corporate funds.

In case of funding deficiencies in GOCCs and GFIs included in the Salary Standardization Law, however, the government can provide funding assistance to support the updated incentive package.

The incentives of affected personnel who retired/separated from their agencies beginning July 1, 2007 and before the issuance of EO 77 will be recomputed by their agencies to correspond with their salaries as of retirement. The difference will be paid to them, subject to DBM’s validation.

Exempted from this rule are positions created with no additional cost to government, as well as population-related positions, including policemen, teachers, and medical and allied medical personnel, among others.

Additionally, mandated new functions which cannot be absorbed by existing units will also be permitted, as determined by DBM.