PAY HIKE FOR GOV’T WORKERS ALL SET FOR JUNE 1; ABAD: FOURTH TRANCHE OF SSL III TO ROLL OUT ON TIME

Budget and Management Secretary Florencio B. Abad confirmed that the fourth tranche of the Salary Standardization Law (SSL) III will be implemented on June 1, effectively raising the pay of all government employees ahead of its original schedule.

“President Benigno S. Aquino III earlier promised a pay raise for all government employees in fulfilment of the fourth tranche of SSL III. The raise was originally scheduled for July 1, but the President’s announcement pushed its implementation to June,” Abad said.

President Aquino made the announcement in May 1, Labor Day, as a gesture of appreciation to the country’s public servants.

According to Abad, the fourth tranche of the SSL III will cover all salary and base pay increases for national government employees until December 31, 2011. The pay hike will be supported by P21.7 billion from the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund (MBPF) in the 2012 General Appropriations Act (GAA). This will be further augmented with P2.7 billion, chargeable against savings from the 2012 General Appropriations Act.

“The implementation of the fourth tranche should help government employees respond better to the rising cost of living and price increases for basic commodities. Besides this, the pay raise may give them a much-needed boost for paying tuition and academic fees, especially since schools will be reopening soon,” Abad said.

While the fourth tranche of government employees will be sourced from the MBPF in the 2012 GAA, the amount for government-owned or -controlled corporations (GOCCs) and government financial institutions (GFIs) will be charged against their respective corporate funds in the approved corporate operating budgets.

The pay increase for local government units (LGUs), on the other hand, will be charged against their respective local government funds.

Abad clarified that the pay hike for President Aquino, Vice President Jejomar Binay, and all Cabinet Secretaries will not be implemented until July 1, 2012. Meanwhile, individuals not covered by the fourthe tranche are individuals and groups engaged through job orders, contracts of service, and other similar agreements.

Excluded as well from the salary hike are civilian personnel in government institutions which are exempt from Republic Act (R.A.) No. 6758, “Compensation and Position Classification Act of 1989,” as amended, and which are authorized by law to adopt and are implement their own compensation and position classification systems approved by the Office of the President.

Abad added that Section 10, Article VI of the Constitution will also apply in the implementation of the fourth tranche of SSL III. According to the provision, “The salaries of Senators and Members of the House of Representatives shall be determined by law. No increase in said compensation shall take effect until after the expiration of the full term of all the Members of the Senate and the House of Representatives approving such increase.”

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