Lawmakers bat for inclusion of weathermen’s perks in nat’l budget

MANILA, Philippines—The country’s weathermen received a “sunny” forecast on Tuesday from lawmakers who pushed for the inclusion of funds for their fringe benefits in the 2013 budget instead of sourcing the money from the savings of their agency that may or may not materialize.

During the hearing on the budget for the Department of Science and Technology, lawmakers said money to pay for the benefits of employees of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration must be embedded in the budget every year, given the nature of a job that mandates they  report for work rain or shine.

For 2013, the Magna Carta benefits of DOST employees would amount to over P700 million. The benefits include hazard pay, longevity pay, and other allowances.

Pagasa weathermen earlier rose up in protest against the government’s failure to release their benefits, saying this left them hard pressed to cope with the demands of daily life.

President Benigno Aquino III immediately visited the Pagasa personnel and assured them that they would get their due. Budget Secretary Florencio Abad also said the administration would provide assured funding for the benefits in 2013 and include such provisions in the budget.

Nueva Vizcaya Rep. Carlos Padilla on Tuesday said the salaries of weather specialists must be increased so that the experts here would not be lured by higher-paying jobs abroad. But until this could be done, the benefits due them under the law must be given in a timely manner.

“I believe we have problems with salary standardization and I believe this is one of the culprits. But if we can’t address that, we can at least compensate them with benefits they are entitled to receive,” Padilla said.

He asked the appropriations committee to include the funds for the Magna Carta benefits as a regular item in the 2013 budget so that the DOST employees would not have to rely on savings.

His statements were met with loud applause from DOST employees present at the hearing.

Science Undersecretary Fortunato Dela Peña explained at Tuesday’s hearing that the department’s employees were entitled to Magna Carta benefits and the practice has been to allow the DOST to use its savings for these.

But the Budget Department  said the savings could be determined only after a certain time period, hence the funds were not immediately released. Dela Peña said that in the past, the savings for a certain year were determined earlier, but the Budget Department now has rules which make the DOST wait for a longer period.

He said it seemed difficult now for the DOST to generate savings because the Budget Department tends to ask for the return of funds. It would be best if the benefits would be appropriated, he added.

Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares also vowed to ensure that the funds for the benefits would be embedded in the budget, and said the Magna Carta for Scientists, Engineers, Researchers and other Science and Technology Personnel in Government was passed to ensure that the employees would receive their perks regularly.

Colmenares noted that the Pagasa employees were usually castigated when the country suffers from inclement weather, and yet they were being deprived of what was due them.

He said there were many other government programs from which congress can get the P700 million needed for the benefits.

He vowed to raise the matter again during the plenary debates on the 2013 budget if the appropriations committee would not approve the proposal to include the benefits in the DOST budget.