Perpetuating the status quo

Last week, President Aquino ordered that all government workers be given a P10,000 bonus that will be on top of the Christmas bonus they are already getting and the so-called 13th month pay that is mandated by law.

When Noynoy ran for president, the catch-phrase that really worked wonders for his campaign was “walang corrupt kung walang mahirap.” I hope the additional bonus has nothing to do with that campaign objective.

Too many undeserved bonuses are counter-productive. And they contradict the main thrust of his government. Bonuses, like the cash doleouts that he euphemistically calls conditional cash transfers, do not lead anyone out of poverty.

And if the bonuses are undeserved, their giving can only serve to further entrench the corruption Noynoy vowed to eradicate. It is easy to spot an undeserved bonus: It usually sports a euphemistic name. Check the new bonus. It is called a “productivity enhancement incentive.”

But of course, with few exceptions, most government workers do not deserve a productivity enhancement incentive, for the simple reason that there is hardly any productivity to speak of, much less enhance.

That is precisely the reason why Noynoy won the presidency in the first place — because he rode on the promise of change, that he was going to dismantle the corrupt bureaucracy that was giving the Filipino people such a hard time.

Now, with the added and undeserved bonus, Noynoy is actually rewarding corruption in the bureaucracy, the very corruption that is gnawing away at government productivity. Instead of change, Noynoy is perpetuating the status quo.

To make matters worse, the added and undeserved bonus is being paid for by taxpayers many of whom do not work for government and who may not even be enjoying the kind of incentives and bonuses Noynoy has decided to gift government workers.

To perpetuate the practice of giving added and undeserved bonuses may win for Noynoy some support in his own house. But for how long until he does something unforgivable? Or worse yet, for how long until the funds run out.

Remember that among the very first things Noynoy said on assuming the presidency was that he inherited a cash-strapped government. Which is precisely why he had to put on a show in New York by eating a hotdog lunch on a sidewalk — to do away with unnecessary expenses.

Now here he is, wasting tax money better spent on medicines or classrooms to ingratiate himself to a bureaucracy whose idea of productivity is to start the day prettying up 30 minutes into official time, and ends it prettying up again 30 minutes before punchout time.

I have nothing against bonuses. Everybody loves one. But bonuses have to be deserved, especially in government where the money used for bonuses comes from the taxes people pay almost without fail or exception.

By its very nature and definition, a bonus is an extra pay, a gratuity, in recognition of something appreciated or done well. It is a reward in the very sense of the word. It is therefore not to be given freely and indiscriminately.

By giving more bonuses than government workers actually deserve, Noynoy has proven he is no different from his predecessor, whose vilification he used as his ticket to election. In fact he is worse. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo doggedly offered no excuses. Noynoy is all pretense.