Senate OKs Salary Standardization Law
The Senate unanimously passed on the third and final reading on Monday the proposed Salary Standardization Law (SSL) that seeks to introduce a higher compensation system for all government employees, including nurses, teachers and soldiers starting next year.
Fourteen senators voted to approve Senate Bill No. 2671 with no negative vote or abstention.
Those who voted were Senate President Franklin Drilon, Senators Sonny Angara, Bam Aquino, Nancy Binay, Pia Cayetano, JV Ejercito and Francis Escudero.
Senators Teofisto Guingona, Loren Legarda, Sergio Osmena, Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, Ralph Recto, Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, and Cynthia Villar also approved of the bill.
Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, who sponsored the bill, said the SSL IV would be implemented in four tranches, starting from January1, 2016 to January 1, 2019.
He said the bill will introduce a new compensation and position classification system (CPCS) which would bring the pay of government personnel closer to prevailing rates in the private sector, or to at least 70 percent of the market rate for all salary grades.
“This means government personnel like nurses who are currently receiving P24,887 per month (under Salary Grade 15) will have their salaries raised to P26,192 next year. In the final year of the SSL, their monthly salaries will have been raised to P30,531,” Trillanes said in a statement.
The minimum basic salary which could be received by civilian government personnel (Salary Grade 1 or “Administrative Aide”) would be raised from the current rate of P9,000 to P11, 068.
Trillanes said a similar hike would be applied to the pay of military and uniformed personnel, as army privates, apprentice seamen and police officers of the lowest rank would have their monthly salaries raised from P14,834 to P16, 597.
Aside from the increases in the monthly salary of government personnel, the proposed measure also introduces an improved set of allowances and benefits, such as 14th month pay, a mid-year bonus, and an enhanced performance-based bonus which can be equal or double the monthly salary.
“The bill will maximize the employees’ net take-home pay and recognize the government personnel who play a greater role and carry a heavier responsibility in improving government performance,” Trillanes said.
Trillanes also said the higher wages to be introduced under the bill would serve as an “anti-corruption measure.”
“Due to the competitive compensation package, our public servants can be effectively discouraged from resorting to scrupulous activities in order to augment their meager income and instead, focus their efforts and energy on serving the public, curbing corruption, and cutting red tape,” he said.
Drilon said the SSL IV was also intended to attract more professionals into the public workforce by making compensation for all civilian government personnel “competitive with those doing comparable work in the private sector,” noting that a study commissioned by the Department of Budget and Management pegged the government’s pay scheme at 45 percent below market.
He said reforming the low pay rates in the public sector “would help address the 191, 988 still unfilled positions in government, which inadvertently affects the smooth delivery of services to the people.”
Trillanes said the pay increase for military and uniformed personnel also sought to promote “pay equity for an effective, efficient, committed, competent and motivated corps of officers and enlisted personnel.”
Drilon earlier said Congress would try to submit the bill to Malacanang for President Benigno Aquino III’s signature before the year ends so that employees, except for incumbent elected national officials, would be able to enjoy the new salary package starting January 1, 2016.
The Senate had earlier approved the 2016 General Appropriations Act, which already included a P50.7 billion allocation for the implementation of the first tranche of wage hikes planned under the SSL IV next year.
