NEGROS Occidental Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. said the provincial government prepared the P65 million intended for the third tranche salary increase of the provincial government employees.
He said more than 3,000 Capitol workers will be covered by the salary increase, which will be a retroactive pay from January 2019.
Because of the salary increase, Marañon said he expects that the employees would be more efficient in their respective jobs for a much better public service for the people of Negros.
The increase would depend on the salary grade of the respective employees.
The release of the salary increase will start this month, he said, adding it will be made after getting the clearance from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).
Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno earlier said the scheduled increase cannot be implemented until the 2019 General Appropriations Act was legislated.
Amid calls from the lawmakers to implement the increase, the DBM chief maintained there was no legal basis for adjusting the pay.
Executive Order (EO) No. 201, series of 2016, which provides that the implementation of the salary schedule was “subject to appropriations by Congress.”
“Accordingly, Section 15 of the same EO, in identifying the funding source for the salary adjustments, provides that the DBM shall be authorized to implement or adjust the compensation corresponding to the appropriations provided in the General Appropriation Act,” Diokno added.
He also stressed that Congress Joint Resolution No. 3, series of 2018 only extends the validity for capital outlays and maintenance and other operating expenses and does not cover personnel services.
Diokno added that the extension of the 2018 budget cannot be used for the compensation adjustment.
The DBM chief reiterated that government personnel would be able to enjoy further wage increases starting 2020 until 2022.