UPON the request of Mayor Evelio Leonardia, the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP), headed by Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran, passed an appropriation ordinance for P41.5 million for the grant of hazard pay and special risk allowance to employees of the Bacolod City Government who qualified for it.
Familiaran said the SP unanimously passed the appropriation ordinance during their regular session Wednesday, August 5, 2020.
Leonardia said, “This is a form of saying thank you to our frontliners and employees who rendered work during the ECQ (enhanced community quarantine) from March 30 to May 15, 2020. They are our heroes during these trying times.”
On August 3, Leonardia wrote the SP requesting that salary savings from vacant positions from January 1 to May 31, 2020, be reverted and reappropriated for an appropriation ordinance to cover the hazard pay and special risk allowances of those who qualified for it.
Of the P41.5 million reappropriated, P37.6 million is for hazard pay and P3.9 million is for special risk allowance.
City Budget Officer Ma. Imelda Williams said those entitled to receive these incentives are regular employees, job order workers and contractual employees of the City, who rendered frontline and other essential services during the ECQ in the city from March 30 until May 15 or for 47 days.
Williams said that based on the availability of funds of the City Government, each of the qualified personnel will receive hazard pay of, at most, P350 per day for the number of days they rendered service during the 47 days of the ECQ.
On the other hand, each of the qualified personnel will receive a one-time special risk allowance, which is equivalent to a maximum of 25 percent of their monthly basic pay. The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) released a budget circular providing a prorated computation of the special risk allowance.
Personnel receiving “regular hazard pay” may avail of the Covid-19 hazard pay, whichever is higher, she said. (PR)