Zubiri announces raise of Senate employees inflationary aid to P50,000

Senate President Juan Miguel “Migz” F. Zubiri Senate PRIB file photo / Joseph Vidal

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate is increasing this year’s inflationary adjustment aid of its employees from P12,200 to P50,000, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri announced on Monday.

If the employee’s basic monthly salary is higher, he/she will receive the amount equivalent to the monthly pay, instead of P50,000.

“To help you all deal with your daily expenses, we have improved the inflationary adjustment assistance. Tumaas ang inflation. Dapat itaas din natin ang assistance (Inflation increased. Assistance should likewise go up),” Zubiri said during the Senate’s flag raising ceremony.

“Kaya mula P12,200, gagawin natin itong P50,000 or your basic monthly salary, whichever is higher. Basta guaranteed na po ang P50,000 diyan and you can expect this in August,” he added.

(From P12,200, we will make it P50,000 or your monthly basic salary, whichever is higher. The P50,000 is guaranteed and you can expect this in August.)

All 3,000 employees of the Senate will receive the one-time inflationary assistance, said Zubiri.

The medical assistance for employees likewise swelled from P30,000 to P50,000.

Zubiri noted that the incentives are sourced from the Senate’s savings. He then appealed to spend less in order for employees to receive more.

“Ang pakiusap ko nga kanina na sana we spend less on paper, we spend less on overtime para maibalik din sa mga empleyado itong savings na natatanggap namin in terms of incentives and bonuses para ganun ay napakaganda ng trabaho ng ating empleyado at nakikita n’yo naman highly motivated sila,” the Senate President said in an interview after the flag raising ceremony.

(I urged us to spend less on paper, we spend less on overtime to return the savings to employees in terms of incentives and bonuses so that they will work well and you can see that they are highly motivated.)

Zubiri further said that he is supporting plans to increase workers’ minimum wage.

“Ako ay sumusuporta sa planong itaas ang (I am supporting plans to increase the) minimum wage. The minimum wage is not necessarily a living wage. Ang (Our) living wage po natin ngayon ay mataas sa (is higher than the) minimum wage,” he said.

Current daily minimum wage in Metro Manila is P570.

READ: Metro Manila workers seek P100 daily wage hike

JPV