Budget Secretary Florencio Abad. INQUIRER file photo
Budget Secretary Florencio B. Abad said Monday his department had proposed to Malacañang the setting aside of a P11.68-billion kitty for a P10,000-productivity enhancement incentive (PEI) or bonus for each national government employee.
Abad said in a statement that the PEI, which needs an administrative order to be disbursed, would be on top of the 13th month pay and P5,000 cash gift that state personnel usually receive in the second half of this month.
The budget chief explained that while similar incentives had been granted in past years, the difference this time was that the National Treasury would shoulder the entire amount instead of providing only P7,000 and then requiring state agencies to provide a counterpart of P3,000 sourced from their savings.
“Under the old policy, there were agencies that could not provide their P3,000 share in full or in part to their employees due to insufficient savings,” he said. “To be fair to all employees, we are proposing that the full P10,000 will be given to them through the national government.”
Proof of fiscal stability
Abad also said that Malacañang would take this method “as a proof of the [government’s] stable fiscal situation,” which he attributed to improved management of expenditures and the budget deficit.
Moreover, he said, the new policy would prevent agencies from artificially generating savings, at the expense of the programs and projects they were implementing, to finance their share of the PEI.
Earlier, Abad said agencies and state-run firms had refrained from hiring new employees in order to generate savings that could be converted to bonuses at the end of the year.
Under the proposal, those eligible to receive the PEI are permanent, temporary, casual or contractual state employees still active in the service as of November 30 this year.
The full amount will be given to those who have rendered at least four months of service as of that date.
For employees of state-run firms and government financial institutions, the amount will be charged against the savings of the firms, whether in full or partially depending on sufficiency of funds.
A PEI of not more than P10,000 may be granted to employees in the legislature and the judiciary and other offices with fiscal autonomy depending on their available savings.