PCGG is best-performing agency under DOJ

PCGG Chairman Andres Bautista: PCGG has turned itself around from a corruption-riddled reputation in the past. AFP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—The Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) has emerged as the best-performing agency last year among the agencies under the purview of the Department of Justice (DOJ).

As the agency tasked to recover the illegally amassed assets of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, his family and cronies, the PCGG far surpassed the DOJ and the eight other agencies under the DOJ in meeting performance targets.

A report prepared to determine the performance-based bonuses (PBB) for 2012 of government employees showed that the DOJ and all nine agencies it oversees achieved their priority targets and result areas by over 100 per cent.

The PCGG, however, exceeded its target by over 100 times.

The PCGG, working on a budget of P96 million, remitted last year six times that amount or P567 million to the National Treasury based on improved profits by sequestered companies and the privatization of two sequestered properties.

The PCGG remitted another record P56.5 billion from redeeming the 24 per cent bloc of the contested San Miguel Corp. preferred shares, which the Supreme Court had ruled to have been purchased with coconut levy funds, which have been declared as public funds.

With another P13.7 billion out of the escrowed dividend payments and accrued interest by the end of 2012, the San Miguel recovery totalled P70.24 billion, which constitutes the largest single recovery of the PCGG since its creation in 1986.

PCGG Chairman Andres Bautista said the “best agency” tag was another proof that the PCGG has turned itself around from having a corruption-riddled reputation in the past.

“While there were low points in our agency’s history when its credibility was called into question, whether for benign neglect or outright corruption, the current stewards are determined to improve upon the legacy it will ultimately bequeath the Filipino people,” Bautista said in a statement.

10,065% accomplishment rate

The PCGG, which has 114 employees, turned in a 10,065 percent accomplishment rate of targets, according to the report.

Although all the agencies under the DOJ got more than 100 per cent accomplishment rates, the Malacañang guidelines on the PBB said only one agency could be given the “best agency” tag, while the next three agencies with the next highest accomplishment rates were tagged “better agencies” tag and the rest were tagged the “good agencies.”

The “better agencies” are the Bureau of Immigration, which posted an accomplishment rate of 130.72 per cent, Public Attorney’s Office with 122.94 per cent and the Office of the Solicitor General with 113.11 per cent.

The “good agencies” are the Land Registration Authority with a 111.07 per cent accomplishment rate, the Parole and Probation Administration with 106.24 per cent, Bureau of Corrections with 105.75 per cent , the National Bureau of Investigation with 103.71 per cent, the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel with 103.35 and the DOJ-Office of the Secretary with 101.60 per cent.

Under the guidelines, each agency will also rank their employees according to best performer, better performing and good performing employees.

PCGG’s top ranking meant that a few PCGG employees who will be adjudged as best-performing employees will get the promised top performance-based bonus of P35,000.

The better performers will get P20,000 while most of the employees who will be adjudged as good performers will get P10,000.

Bonuses released Wednesday

The bonuses are expected to be released to PCGG employees on Wednesday, July 31.

Last December, Malacañang scrapped the P10,000 year-end bonus traditionally given to government employees and instead gave only P5,000 as so-called productivity enhancement incentive (PEI).

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) instead instituted the so-called performance-based bonus ranging from P5,000 for good performing employees in a good performing agency, to P35,000 for the best performing employees in the best performing agencies.

The DOJ said 14,717 of the 14,973 employees in all DOJ agencies as of November last year were entitled to the bonus.

Their bonus will amount to P106,026,500.

A group of public school teachers have complained that the PBB was unfair and divisive since it has limited the top bonus to only a few employees.

With nearly 600,000 employees under the Department of Education, public school teachers were no longer rated according to their individual performance but according to their respective school’s performance in terms of students’ aptitude test results, dropout rate and the budget liquidation.

But the teachers have complained that these factors are not within their control.