AROUND 1,200 employees of the Cebu Provincial Government will soon enjoy a salary increase after the Cebu Provincial Board approved the budget amounting to P32.5 million for the salary adjustments.
On Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, the Cebu Provincial Board approved the second supplemental budget 2 (SB2) and appropriated the total sum of P32.546 million for the first tranche of salary adjustment for September to December 2024.
The salary increase will range from three to four percent of the employee’s salary, depending on his position, Cebu Provincial Board Member Glenn Soco told SunStar Cebu in a text message on Tuesday, Sept. 3.
However, Soco clarified that job order employees are not included in the salary increase.
The salary adjustment is in line with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s authorization of salary increases for government employees in four stages starting this year. The President also instructed the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to provide guidelines for implementing these increases.
DBM issued the Local Budget Circular 160 on Aug. 12, 2024, which prescribed the effectiveness of the first tranche implementation by the local government units.
The Provincial government’s SB2 reads that “Cebu Province belongs to the salary schedule for first-class provinces, shall be on the date of the approval of the appropriation ordinance authorizing the supplemental budget or augmentation or on the date fixed therein pursuant to Section 320 of R.A. No. 7160, however, shall in no case be made retroactive pursuant to Section 325(g) of the same R.A. 7160.”
It also stressed that there are sufficient funds available to cover these salary adjustments without exceeding the budget limit of personal services.
SunStar Cebu obtained the figure of 1,200 based on the December 2023 report of the Cebu Provincial Government when it announced that more than 1,200 employees of the Capitol will receive a Christmas bonus of P40,000.
The appropriation ordinance specifies the full implementation of the first tranche of salary adjustments for first-class provinces from September to December 2024, as per the guidelines specified in the DBM’s Local Budget Circular.
Under Section 3 of the ordinance, the Provincial Governor or the head of the Provincial Council has the authority to transfer funds between different budget categories within their respective offices if there are surpluses in some areas.
Soco, when he presented the ordinance to the council, quoted a portion of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.’s Executive Order 64, saying “The increase is to ensure that the compensation of all civilian personnel be competitive with those in the private sector doing comparable work, in order to attract, retain and motivate a corps of competent and dedicated civil servants.”
Soco also emphasized that “considering the time constraints, necessity and exigency of this action, the executive office had certified this legislative action as urgent.” / CDF