CEBU City Hall’s local finance committee wants at least P100 million more for the City Government this year.
The bulk of the planned first supplemental budget (SB 1), amounting to P78 million, will cover the bonus of the estimated 5,000 employees of the City, while the remaining P22 million will cover obligations from preceding years.
The bonus is an offshoot of Executive Order (EO) 181 of President Benigno Aquino III, signed last month, which seeks to grant a one-time productivity enhancement incentive (PEI) to all government employees.
Under the EO, the incentive will be equivalent to either P5,000 or one month basic salary of government employees.
Those that will be covered in the granting of PEI are civilian personnel occupying regular, contractual or casual positions, whether appointive or elective, on full-time or part-time basis.
Those that are not covered are individuals hired by the government without employer-employee relationship, such as job orders, consultants and student laborers and apprentices.
Good record
For local government units (LGU), the granting of the PEI will be given only if they have been given the Good Financial Housekeeping (GFH), formerly known as the Seal of Good Housekeeping for fiscal year 2014.
The City was awarded GFH by the Department of Interior and Local Government last March 30.
The granting of bonus to City employees have already been announced by the mayor.
Funds
In an interview, Acting City Treasurer Diwa Cuevas told Sun.Star Cebu that they are inclined to give the employees a bonus equivalent to their one month salary.
She said her office is already looking for funds that will support the SB 1.
Cuevas said the local finance committee already asked the 21 departments of the City to submit to them items from their budget that can no longer be used.
“This includes projects that already had funds but won’t be implemented because they are no longer feasible,” she said.
According to Cuevas, they are targeting to submit the planned SB 1 to the City Council before the end of the month.