THOUGH he did not say the exact amount, Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said provincial government employees will receive a lesser extra bonus next month compared to what they received last year.
"We will now be giving what is allowed," Lacson clarified.
Earlier, Provincial Administrator Atty. Rayfrando Diaz II said they would no longer give the Incentive Benefits for Exemplary Service (Ibes) after Notices of Disallowance were received by the provincial government from the Commission on Audit (COA).
"We will already stop the policy of giving (it) knowing that it will be denied," Lacson said.
Capitol employees received the Ibes amounting to P25,000 in the previous years.
"At the end of the day, the employees who will retire will still be affected because it will deduct from their retirement benefits,” Lacson said.
They are still appealing the distribution of Ibes before the Supreme Court but they never won, the governor noted.
The disallowance for Ibes covers not only for 2021 but even during the previous years, Lacson said. Diaz earlier explained that the basis for extra bonus this year would be the Collective Negotiation Agreement, Productivity Enhancement Incentive (PEI) and Performance-Based Bonus (PBB).
Last year, Capitol employees received a total of P65,000 each in extra bonus.
"Christmas is within us... It’s not about money. It's about being with your family and reconciling with loved ones,” the governor also said.
In Bacolod City meanwhile, regular, co-terminus, plantillas and casual employees as well as retirees of the Bacolod City Government will receive a maximum of P25,000 Collective Negotiation Agreement (CNA) incentive from the city government, the Bacolod City Information Office said yesterday.
Mayor Alfredo Abelardo "Albee" Benitez mentioned this as he started his first day of work after recovering from coronavirus disease (Covid-19) yesterday, November 16, it said.
It added that the CNA is to be given not earlier than December 15 of this year, which was granted by virtue of Budget Circular No. 2022-3.
Aside from the aforementioned incentives, qualified employees will also be receiving their Productivity Incentive Allowance, amounting to P5,000.
These bonuses are on top of the year-end bonus equivalent to the employee's one month salary and Cash Gift amounting to P5,000 which is currently being distributed.
In total, city hall employees are expected to receive bonuses amounting to a minimum of P47,517 and a maximum of P148,891 before the year ends. (With reports from APN)