Cordillera gov’t men assail taxes

BAGUIO CITY—Government workers in the Cordillera have asked Malacañang to raise their pay and exempt them from a new tax circular that would reduce their benefits.

During a State of the Government Employees forum on July 24 here, Manny Baclogan, national president of the Social Welfare Employee’s Association of the Philippines, said state workers supported the passage of a fourth salary standardization measure that would add P6,000 to their wages.

Baclogan, former deputy secretary general of the Confederation for Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees, said neither the P466 minimum wage of Metro Manila employees nor the P280 minimum wage of Cordillera government workers was enough to spend for a family’s daily needs of P1,046.

He also questioned the wisdom of imposing a performance-based incentive system or a strategic performance management system to determine each worker’s benefits, which government agencies and local governments now apply.

“Instead of encouraging teamwork, we are now competing with fellow employees to get benefits,” said Baclogan.

Worse, he added, employees who earned more points were those close to government officials tasked with distributing benefits.

The employees also protested a Bureau of Internal Revenue memorandum that imposes tax on state workers’ benefits like overtime pay. Jhoanna Marie Buenaobra, Inquirer Northern Luzon