Monday, January 30, 2006
Budget office thumbs down City pay increase
By Linette C. Ramos
CEBU CITY -- Finding the proposed rates excessive, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) 7 barred an increase in the salaries of the Cebu City mayor, vice mayor and city councilors, which was supposed to take effect this month.
A DBM opinion issued last January 6 will further delay the increase in the elected officials’ salary, which has been on hold since June 2004 yet.
Although the City Council is authorized by law to set the salary rates of all city officials and employees, the increase they proposed runs counter to several Civil Service Commission (CSC) and DBM guidelines, the DBM regional director said.
Director Carmela Fernan pointed out the new rates are pegged beyond the first step of the salary grade for the positions of mayor, vice mayor and councilor.
A 2004 ordinance authorized the increase in the elected officials’ monthly salary by as much as 18.8 percent, or P4,420.
The increase varies, depending on their length of service.
First step
Under Republic Act 6758 or the Compensation and Position Classification Act of 1989 and other existing compensation guidelines, the salary rate for elective officials is pegged at the first step only of the salary grade position, regardless of the number of terms served.
While the joint CSC-DBM Circular 1 allows the salary increase of government workers through step increments, based on merit and length of service, it is limited only to officials and employees who are appointed on a permanent status in the career and non-career service.
“It is clear therefore that RA 6758, as implemented by the said joint circular, does not allow salaries beyond the first step of the salary grade except when the employee or official concerned is entitled to step increments under the rules,” Fernan said in her letter to Mayor Tomas Osmeña.
“Under the rules, only appointed officials are covered, hence elected officials are not among those government personnel eligible to receive step increments,” she added.
Long wait
The ordinance was approved in June 2004 yet and was supposed to take effect when the newly elected officials assumed their post in the same month.
But because the City did not have funds to implement the increase, the councilors deferred its implementation to January this year.
City Administrator Francisco Fernandez said the increase is already funded in this year’s General Fund but at this time, they have no choice but to follow the DBM rules.
“We’re supposed to implement it this year but we did not go ahead with it because DBM says it should not be authorized. We have consulted the councilors and we’ll just wait for their recommendations if we should appeal to DBM Manila,” he told Sun.Star Cebu.
The council approved an increase in the mayor’s salary from P28,875 to P31,573. They also approved an increase in the vice mayor’s salary, from P24,359 to P28,249.
Councilors who are on their third term were supposed to get the highest increase, at 18.87 percent, or from their current salary of P23,422 to P27,842.
Limited
Salaries of councilors on their second term will increase to P25,223, while first term councilors will still get P23,422, as proposed by former councilor Manuel Legaspi.
Osmeña had said in July 2004 that he would veto the ordinance, to be fair to city employees who did not get a pay hike. Last month, however, he said he will no longer veto it but will just wait for DBM’s opinion on the matter.
Fernan said that until a new guideline is issued revising or updating the rules on pay hikes, requests of local government units (LGUs) for salary increases for its officials and employees cannot be authorized.
“While the Local Government Code has granted city councils compensation-setting powers for their LGUs, such powers must be circumscribed by existing position classification and compensation laws, rules and regulations,” she added.
Compensation schemes that are not in accordance with existing compensation policies and guidelines cannot be authorized, Fernan said. (Sun.Star Cebu/Sunnex)
(January 30, 2006 issue)
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