President Benigno S. Aquino III exchanges pleasantries with Stephen Solarz Memorial Fund founder Nina Solarz during the Courtesy Call at the Music Room of the Malacañan Palace on Friday (November 06, 2015). (MNS photo)
MANILA (Mabuhay) – President Benigno Aquino III on Monday endorsed to Congress a proposed law that would mandate a four-year P226-billion compensation increase for government workers, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said.
In a press statement, the DBM said the bill titled “Salary Standardization Law of 2015” or SSL 2015 was submitted to Congress for its approval. The salary hike will cover 1.53 million civilian and military and uniformed personnel.
According to Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad, the compensation package is composed of a salary increase, a mid-year 14th month pay, and an enhanced performance-based bonus (PBB) system.
If the bill is approved, the basic salary of covered employees will be increased on the average by 27 percent, while the 14th month pay will raise compensation by 8 percent, said the DBM.
The enhanced PBB is equivalent to one to two months’ salary or an average 10 percent increase in salary.
“The first tranche of the adjustment will take effect on Jan. 1, 2016, and the subsequent three tranches on every January 1thereafter until the final tranche in 2019,” Abad said.
Abad noted that at the end of the four tranches, government compensation will be around 84 percent of its equivalent in the private sector.
The lowest salary grade, Salary Grade 1 will be about 154 percent of the market, while the highest, Salary Grade 33, will be about 70 percent of the market. Only the president’s pay is equivalent to Salary Grade 33, which is P120,000 at present.
Abad said that incumbent President Aquino as well as his Cabinet members will not benefit from the salary hike.
Abad cited the 1987 Constitution which states that any increase in the compensation of the President, the Vice President, and lawmakers shall take effect until after the expiration of their terms.
“The salaries of the President and Vice-President shall be determined by law and shall not be decreased during their tenure. No increase in said compensation shall take effect until after the expiration of the term of the incumbent during which such increase was approved,” Article VII, Section 6 of the Constitution states. (MNS)