THOUSANDS of job order (JO) workers in Davao City could receive expanded financial assistance and welfare support under a proposed package aimed at easing the impact of inflation and rising private-sector wages.
The proposals include higher daily pay, end-of-engagement financial recognition, emergency medical assistance, and free shuttle services.
Councilor Diosdado Mahipus Jr. introduced the package during a privilege speech at the 21st City Council regular session. He later discussed the proposals during the Pulong-Pulong sa Dabawenyos media forum.
“Our job order workers may not occupy permanent items in our plantilla, but their work is part of the permanent work of the government,” Mahipus said, emphasizing the role of JO workers in city operations.
Wage adjustments
Mahipus said rising prices have reduced the purchasing power of JO workers. Regional inflation reached 6.7 percent in August, according to the data he cited.
He said JO pay should also reflect rising living costs as the minimum wage for non-agricultural workers in the Davao Region reached P540 a day under Wage Order No. RB XI-24.
“A rate considered adequate several years ago may have lost a substantial part of its purchasing power today. Sometimes an increase is necessary simply to preserve the real value of what a worker is already earning,” Mahipus said.
He said the city is evaluating possible daily rate increases with the Human Resource Management Office to help restore purchasing power lost to inflation.
Proposed benefits
Mahipus also proposed a Service Recognition Financial Assistance program that would provide JO workers P1,000 for every completed year of service when their contracts end.
He said some JO workers have served the city for 10, 20, or even 30 years but do not receive retirement pensions or financial recognition comparable to regular employees when their contracts end.
For worker safety, he proposed an Emergency Medical Assistance program that would use city funds to cover immediate hospital care and reimburse field personnel injured while performing their duties.
“We should examine the establishment of emergency medical assistance for occupational injuries, with a simple and accessible mechanism for qualified workers,” Mahipus said.
He also proposed free shuttle services for JO workers as part of the assistance package.
Legal framework
Mahipus said the city must structure the proposed assistance within existing Civil Service Commission rules, which prohibit treating JO workers as regular employees entitled to standard employee benefits.
Instead, the city would provide direct financial recognition and welfare assistance through programs that comply with existing rules.
He cited similar initiatives supported by the Local Health Board to provide financial assistance to Barangay Health Workers and Barangay Nutrition Scholars.
The proposal builds on earlier city efforts to provide financial support to municipal workers.
In December 2025, the 21st Sangguniang Panlungsod approved Supplemental Budget No. 3, which allocated P187.32 million from the city’s 2024 surplus operations. The measure provided up to P20,000 in Service Recognition Incentives for regular plantilla employees and up to P7,000 in gratuity pay for JO and Contract of Service workers.
Councilor Danilo Dayanghirang, chairperson of the Committee on Finance, Ways and Means, and Appropriations, previously described such incentives as part of the city’s good-governance efforts and recognition of its workforce.
The City Council has approved a resolution asking the HRMO, City Budget Office, Local Finance Committee, and City Development Council to develop the implementation guidelines, legal framework, and budget estimates for the proposed JO assistance program. GRS
