Gov’t workers to get their productivity bonus by Dec. 14, says budget chief Abad

Budget Secretary Florencio B. Abad: Good news. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Some 1.2 million employees of the national government will get their P5,000 productivity bonus as early as Dec. 14, according to Budget Secretary Florencio B. Abad.

Abad said the productivity enhancement incentive (PEI), given out across the board, would come on top of the remainder of employees’ P5,000 cash gift and of their 13th-month pay.

The first half of the latter two bonuses has already been distributed earlier in the year and the remainder would be given out in the second half of December, he added.

The budget chief explained that the amount of the PEI in any given year has always depended on savings that the national government made.

“This year, the PEI for each employee amounts to P5,000, regardless of rank or function,” Abad said.

“The PEI is one of the ways through which we hope to motivate our government workers so they are better positioned to serve the Filipino public,” he said.

According to Abad, the PEI is one component of the Aquino administration’s Performance-Based Incentive System, which uses incentives to encourage better work performance in the bureaucracy.

He added that when President Aquino took office in 2010, he ordered for the PEI to be released every December partly to help government employees with their holiday expenses.

Those who are eligible for the PEI are civilian workers who occupy regular, contractual, or casual positions—both appointive and elective, and both full-time and part-time.

Also eligible to receive the PEI are the military personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Department of National Defense as well as uniformed personnel of the Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, the Philippine Coast Guard, and the National Mapping Resource Information Authority.

Further, Abad said that employees of local government units and of government-owned or -controlled corporations (GOCCs) under the Department of Budget and Management’s supervision would also receive the bonus.

“The PEI for (these entities) will be charged against their respective operating funds,” he said, adding that GOCCs with budget constraints might give out pro-rated rates smaller than P5,000.

As for LGUs, PEI rates are determined by the respective councils to fit the LGU financial capabilities, and are subject to personal services limitations.

“A one-time PEI may likewise be granted to GOCCs under the Governance Commission on GOCCs at rates not exceeding P5,000 and is charged against their respective operating budgets,” Abad said.