COA defied as Cebu port men get P50,000 bonus

CEBU CITY—The Cebu Port Authority (CPA) released the bonuses of its employees on Nov. 1 despite an order by the Commission on Audit (COA) demanding the refund of P31.79 million in perks the port workers enjoyed in 2009 and 2010.

CPA Deputy General Manager Yusop Uckung yesterday said each employee had received P10,000 of the P50,000 cash gift and the yearend bonus equivalent to their two-month salary.

The remaining P40,000 of the cash gift will be released before the end of 2011, he added.

Uckung said only a court order can stop the release of the remaining cash gift.

COA has ordered the refund of P31.79 million in perks released to CPA employers in 2009 and 2010 because they violated Republic Act No. 6686, which prescribes the annual Christmas bonus for government officials.

COA said the perks were released without the approval of the Department of Budget and Management.

The perks, called “traditional benefits,” consist of a mid-year bonus equivalent to one-month basic pay, a yearend bonus equivalent of two-month salary and P50,000 in cash gift.

Uckung said the CPA released the midyear bonus in June while the initial cash gift and yearend bonus were distributed on Nov. 1.

He said the COA ruling was a “mere opinion.” But he said the legality of the benefits had been upheld by a regional trial court.

Uckung recalled that when the CPA was still an attached agency of the Philippine Ports Authority, workers were already enjoying these perks.