New bonus scheme for workers

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino yesterday issued Executive Order 80 directing the adoption of a performance-based incentive system for government employees to encourage them to serve the public better.

Aquino cited the need to rationalize the current incentive system in government, which is generally characterized by across-the-board bonuses given uniformly to all civil servants.

Under the EO, there will be a performance category and the range of bonuses for good to best performers will be P5,000 to P35,000.

The President said the performance monitoring and appraisal systems based on existing systems like the Organizational Performance Indicator Framework (OPIF) – used by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to measure agency performance – the Strategic Performance Management System (SPMS) of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) linking individual performance to organizational performance, and the Results-Based Performance Monitoring System (RBPMS) must be enhanced.

“Service delivery by the bureaucracy can be improved by linking personnel incentives to the bureau or delivery unit’s performance and recognizing and rewarding exemplary performance in the public sector,” he said.

EO 80 implements a Performance-Based Incentive (PBI) System that will motivate government employees to perform well.

Administrative Order 25 seeks to establish a unified and integrated RBPMS in all departments and agencies within the executive branch, incorporating a common set performance scorecard, and creating an accurate, accessible, and up-to-date government-wide, sectoral, and organizational performance information system, which shall be used as basis for determining entitlement to performance-based allowances, incentives, or compensation of government personnel.

One of the governing principles of the Senate and House of Representatives Joint Resolution No. 4 also known as the “Salary Standardization Law (SSL) 3” is the establishment of a PBI scheme, which aligns personnel efforts to organizational performance to reward exemplary civil servants and well-performing institutions.

Presidential Decree 985, PD 1597, Republic Act 6758, as amended by Senate and House of Representatives Joint Resolution Nos. 1 and 4, authorized the President to approve policies and levels of allowances and benefits.

Under the EO, a PBI system consisting of the Productivity Enhancement Incentive (PEI) and the Performance-Based Bonus (PBB) shall be adopted in the national government beginning fiscal year 2012.

The PEI amounting to P5,000 shall continually be granted across-the-board, in accordance with the guidelines to be issued by DBM.

The PBB, which is a top-up bonus, shall be given to personnel of bureaus in accordance with their contribution and accomplishment in their department.

“The PBB shall be distributed according to the following scheme for FY 2012, without prejudice to the revision thereof in succeeding years, as may be approved by the President, upon recommendation of the IATF,” the EO read.

Bureaus and individuals who receive a below satisfactory performance rating will not be qualified for the PBB.

Under Section 5 of the EO, the grant of allowances, incentives and bonuses other than those authorized under SSL III and any increase in the existing and authorized rates other than what is provided for in the EO, shall not be allowed.