Acting Makati mayor asks city council to do its part for reforms to continue

MANILA, Philippines - Acting Makati City Mayor Romulo ‘Kid’ Peña on Monday assured city hall employees that they will receive full benefits under his tenure for as long as members of the city council do their part.

In a message delivered after the flag ceremony, Peña congratulated the employees for their victory in securing their productivity enhancement incentive (PEI) after it was granted by the city council.

“I am very happy that at last, the resolution granting the PEI has been passed by the city council. Congratulations to all of you who patiently joined me in encouraging the city council for its immediate passage. We once again proved that nothing is impossible when done hand-in-hand,” Peña said.

Peña also enjoined employees to spend well their hard-earned money.

“I encourage all of you to be wise in spending your resources. We are all aware that life is difficult nowadays and we wouldn’t want to sacrifice the happiness of our family, especially so that Christmas season is fast approaching. We must be responsible enough to save for the holidays and for future use,” Peña said.

"This is clearly the victory of the employees with the help of acting Mayor Peña. By applying appropriate pressure politics, combined with lobbying, Peña convinced the city council to immediately act on this matter," Gilbert Delos Reyes, spokesperson of Peña said. 

Last September 16, the Makati City council announced that it has already passed the ordinance appropriating P131 million for the granting of the Productivity Enhancement Incentive (PEI) or the productivity bonus to qualified employees of the city government.

Acting Makati Vice Mayor Leonardo Magpantay said the PEI is equivalent to an employee’s one-month salary.

In a statement, Magpantay, the top-ranked city councilor in the 2013 local elections, acknowledged that it was suspended Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay who initiated the granting of the said bonus to employees in line with Executive Order (EO) 181.

Magpantay said that as early as last May, Binay had directed the City Council to study his proposal to grant the incentive to qualified employees. Under EO 181, all regular, casual and contractual city government workers who have rendered at least four months of continuous service as of May 31, 2015 were entitled to the bonus.