Drilon defends P67-billion budget eyed for workers’ pay raise

Senate President Franklin Drilon. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Senate President Franklin Drilon defended on Thursday the proposed P67-billion budget next year for the salary increase and benefits of government workers from any speculations that this is only being done now in the last year of the Aquino administration.

Malacañang is proposing a total of P67 billion for workers in the public sector — P50.6 billion to adjust their pay and another P16.8-billion for performance-based incentives.

READ: Palace seeks P67-B budget to raise gov’t workers’ incentives

“Hindi po tama, at hindi po totoo iyan. Binibigyan ko ng diin- ito na ang Salary Standardization IV – pang-apat na beses na po ito. Regular na binabantayan ni Pangulong Noynoy ang pagtaas ng sahod ng ating mga kawani sa pamahalaan,” Drilon said in an interview over DZRH.

(That’s not correct, that’s not true. I emphasize that this is the Salary Standardization IV— this is the fourth. President [Benigno] Noynoy [Aquino III] is regularly monitoring the salary increase of our government workers.)

“Inuulit ko po, ito na ang Salary Standardization Law IV –pang-apat na. Hindi lang po ngayon tinataasan ang sahod ng ating mga kawani sa pamahalaan, kundi may ilang taon na rin po ang nakaraan.”

(I repeat, this is the Salary Standardization Law IV— the fourth. It’s not only now that we’re raising the pay of our state workers, we’ve done this already several years ago)

“Kahit timing man po o hindi, talagang itataas po ang sahod ng ating mga manggagawa (Whether it’s timed (with the last year of the Aquino administration or not) the pay of our workers will be increased),” Drilon added.

It was Drilon who inquired about the pay of state workers during Wednesday’s hearing of the Senate committee on finance on the proposed P3.002-trillion national budget next year. IDL