Not left out this Yuletide, MMDA’s job-order workers get cash, rice, movie pass

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) handed out bonuses to 4,000 of the agency’s job order employees, in accordance with a national government directive providing incentives to all state workers.

MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino said all job-order workers received P7,000 in cash and a sack of rice.

“The job-order status isn’t covered by employer-employee relations. They are not considered contractual or permanent employees,” he said, in reaction to comments that the bonuses were delayed.

“We have no obligation to give them a Christmas bonus but we included them in the spirit of Christmas,” he added.

President Aquino signed an executive order earlier this month granting a one-time performance enhancement incentive (PEI) of P10,000 to all regular, contractual or casual and temporary employees of the executive department.

Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said the national government’s “improved expenditure and fiscal management” made it possible for them to give bonuses to state workers.

In previous years, the national government only paid P7,000 and let other agencies cough up the remaining P3,000, which was charged to their savings for the year.

Since not all agencies are able to charge such an amount to their savings, the national government decided to shoulder everything this year.

Tolentino said the bonuses of job-order employees were taken from the agency’s savings.

In addition to the cash gift and the sack of rice, job-order workers also received movie passes for the MMDA-organized Metro Manila Film Festival.

The PEI had also been released to the MMDA’s regular and contractual employees, who will also receive a sack of rice each, Tolentino said.