P11.5B released for gov’t bonuses

MANILA, Philippines—The entire P11.5-billion fund for the P10,000 Christmas bonus of each state worker in the executive branch had been released to government offices, including state universities and colleges, the Department of Budget and Management said on Thursday.

“Agencies are now responsible for distributing the PEI (productivity enhancement incentive) to their employees in a timely manner,” Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said.

The DBM earlier estimated that around P11.7 billion would be needed for the bonuses of the government’s 1.17-million employees.

“Earlier, we have allowed agencies to use their existing cash so they can pay their employees’ PEI in a timely manner. I also would like to note that there are a number of instances where agencies have refused the additional release from DBM because they still have sufficient funds to use,” he added.

President Aquino earlier issued Administrative Order No. 24 that authorized the grant of the PEI to qualified government employees. This year, the PEI was sourced from the national government instead of agency savings as has been done in the past.

The DBM said those qualified to receive the PEI were employees occupying regular, casual or contractual positions and were still in service as of Nov. 30, 2011.

Those disqualified are those without “employer-employee” relationships with their agency, such as consultants and those employed under contracts of service and job orders.

The DBM said government-owned or controlled corporations and government financial institutions, would charge the PEI against their savings, whether in full or partially, depending on whether they had sufficient funds.

Employees in the legislative and judicial branches, as well as those from other offices with fiscal autonomy, may be granted the bonus at sums not exceeding P10,000, chargeable against the offices’ respective savings.

The DBM said the grant of the PEI for employees in local government units would be determined by the respective councils depending on an LGU’s financial capability and subject to the personal services limitation in the Local Government Code.