Palace to ask next admin for P54.3 B for pay hike

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang will ask the next administration to allocate P54.3 billion for the second tranche of the Salary Standardization Law 4 Bill pending in Congress.

The first tranche is to benefit 1.6 million state workers who would receive a graduated salary increase spread over four years, Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said.

A total of P57.9 billion has been allocated in the General Appropriations Act of 2016, he added.

Coloma said the Department of Budget and Management plans to include a similar item in the proposed National Expenditure Program for 2017 to cover the second tranche.

“The proposed NEP will be turned over to the next administration,” he said.

The full implementation of SSL4 will cost the national government a total of P226 billion over four years – P57.906 billion in 2016, P54.393 billion in 2017, P65.976 billion in 2018 and P47.544 billion in 2019.

It provides a mid-year 14th month pay and an enhanced performance-based bonus system, which is equivalent to one to two months’ salary.

Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said the executive has options to effect the proposed compensation adjustment.

“We are now looking at these options and the DBM will submit its recommendation to the President soon,” he said in a statement posted on the government website.

Abad said Presidential Decree 985 and   Congress Joint Resolution 4, series of 2009, authorizes the President to periodically revise or update, upon the recommendation of DBM, the government’s Compensation and Position Classification System.

“Based on these laws, the President may effect a compensation adjustment that is still consistent with the compensation adjustment strategy under the proposed SSL 2015,” he said.

“One option is to effect the implementation of Tranche 1 of the proposed SSL 2015, given that Congress has appropriated the amount of P57.91 billion in the 2016 budget to cover this requirement. – Delon Porcalla, Jess Diaz, Janvic Mateo, Lalaine Jimenea