SC asked: Compel DBM to release 4th tranche of gov’t workers’ wage hike

MANILA, Philippines — House Majority Leader Rolando Andaya Jr. on Monday asked the Supreme Court to compel the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to release the fourth tranche of salary increase for government workers.

Last week, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno announced that the fourth tranche of salary adjustments will be implemented by February upon the approval of the 2019 general appropriations act (GAA).

“With pronouncements from Congress that the budget bill will be their top priority upon resumption next week, we expect the GAA to be signed first week February,” Diokno said.

The government is currently running on a reenacted budget, which does not cover salary increase for government workers, Diokno said.

But Andaya, in his petition for mandamus, said Diokno cannot use as an excuse the delay in the passage of the 2019 budget to not implement the fourth tranche of salary increase of state workers.

Andaya pointed out that portion of the 2018 budget covers the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund (MPBF) worth P99,446,295,000.00 to be used for payments of personal benefits such as deficiencies in authorized salaries.

Of the P99-billion, a total of P75.1-billion for payment of compensation adjustment and for funding requirements in staffing modifications and upgrading of salaries can be used to cover the fourth tranche of salary increase.

Aside from the MPBC, Andaya said the re-enactment of the 2018 budget has generated savings which can be used to fund the fourth tranche of salary increase.

He said, it is true that the 1987 Constitution prohibits any transfer of appropriations, “it does provide for certain key government officials to augment any item in the General Appropriations Act for their respective offices from savings in other items of their respective appropriations.”

“A simplification of the above definition would yield to savings as the funds generated when the purpose for which it was appropriated for has been fulfilled or is no longer existing. It is in this context – particularly due to the reenactment of the 2018 national budget – that the viability of savings as a source of funds for the salary adjustment materializes,” read the petition.

Aside from Andaya, other petitioners are government employees in both the executive and legislative branch of government.

Andaya stressed that it is important for the petitioners to receive the salaries and benefits entitled to them as provided under the law, and that holding it hostage is a violation of their rights.

“The increase of the salary and benefits is directly intended for the working force of the government, the common tao who propel the administration’s operations…In the midst of the increase of commodity prices, the petitioners and the government employees should not be deprived of their salary increase which they have already anticipated and relied to defray their daily cost of living,” read the petition. /je