AFTER President Aquino signed on Friday an executive order (EO) granting government workers pay increase, the 16th Congress should pass the proposed Salary Standardization Law (SSL) 4 in May to make the salary adjustment permanent, a leader of the House of Representatives said.
“We need to resolve the differences between the Senate and House versions of the SSL 4 in the bicameral conference committee to make it [salary adjustment] permanent. Otherwise, the next Congress has to approve a new bill,” House Majority Leader and Liberal Party Rep. Neptali M. Gonzales II of Mandaluyong said on Friday.
The EO provides for the implementation of the first of four tranches provided for in the proposed SSL 4. The presidential authority to implement the first tranche is provided in Republic Act (RA) 10717, or the 2016 General Appropriations Act (GAA), which allocates a budget of P57.9 billion. RA 6758, or the Compensation and Position Classification Act of 1989, and Presidential Decree 1597 grant the chief executive the power to adjust public-sector compensation.
The bicameral conference between the two chambers of Congress was deadlocked after the Senate panel, led by Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, insisted on a provision that would index the pension of military retirees to the salary increases provided in SSL 4.
The House panel objected because of lack of funding. The Senate proposal would cost taxpayers an additional P18 billion for the first year of implementation.
Gonzales said the 16th Congress can still approve the SSL 4 when session resumes on May 23 to June 10 or after the presidential and local elections.
Meanwhile, House Independent Bloc leader and Lakas Rep. Martin G. Romualdez of Leyte vowed to prioritize the passage of the proposed SSL 4 in the 17th Congress should it fail to pass in the 16th Congress.
“We laud this act of the President although it was long overdue. But since this [EO] will only cover this year’s salary hike, we should continue to remain steadfast to pass a law that would ensure a permanent pay increase for government workers in the next three years,” Romualdez added.
“The big challenge is to guarantee that the increase will happen again in 2017, 2018 and 2019 to complete the four-year objective of this proposal,” he said.
The House of Representatives approved on third and final reading last December 9 House Bill 6268 principally authored by Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., which modifies the compensation and position classification system of civilian government personnel and the base-pay schedule of military and uniformed personnel in government to be implemented in four tranches, starting January 1. The Senate approved its own version, Senate Bill 2671, on third and final reading on January 18.
Earlier, Budget Secretary Florencio B. Abad said the SSL will take effect through a combination of a salary increases, a 14th-month pay and an enhanced performance-based bonus to be implemented over a four-year period, from January 2016 to January 2019.
Abad explained the SSL 4 is based on Joint Resolution 4 enacted by Congress in 2009, mandating the review of the compensation and position classification system after three years from the last year of the adjustment to determine the competitiveness of government pay in relation to the private sector and the compensation strategy to bring government pay closer to market rate.
Abad said the last tranche of the previous salary increase was completed in July 2012. He added that despite the substantial duties and responsibilities of public servants, their salaries stood at 55 percent, or around half, of current market rates. President Aquino on Friday signed an EO granting the first of the four phases of the SSL 4 that Congress failed to pass.
“The EO provides for the implementation of the first of the four tranches provided for in the proposed SSL 4 that has not been enacted by Congress,” Presidential Spokesman Herminio B. Coloma Jr. said in a statement.
Coloma added that the authority to implement the first tranche is provided in RA 10717.
The 2016 GAA provides P57.9-billion budget for the first tranche of the SSL 4, which will also include the granting of 14th-month pay for all public servants.
As this developed, Senate President Franklin M. Drilon vowed to work for the passage of remedial legislation to fund subsequent salary increases for 1.3 million government employees, if he is reelected senator in the next Congress.
“I will personally see to it that our public workers will get their full pay hike by pushing for the SSL 4 in the 17th Congress,” Drilon said on Friday. “It will be the first bill that I will file, if the people will once more trust me to be part of the Senate.”
Drilon made the vow a day after President Aquino signed EO 201 modifying the salary schedule for all state workers. Malacañang said EO 201 also authorized the grant of additional benefits for both “civilian, military and uniformed personnel” in the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
In a statement, the Senate president clarified that the task of formulating and legislating a four-year salary hike for government employees rests with the incoming 17th Congress, even as he hailed President Aquino’s decision to sign the Palace order increasing the salary and benefits of government employees.
“I am glad that President has signed [EO 201] which will start the long-awaited pay hike for our dedicated and hard-working government employees,”Drilon said.
He, however, pointed out that “given that the president’s EO will only cover the salary hike for this year alone, the challenge to implement the full four-year salary hike as envisioned remains with lawmakers,” noting a new version of the SSL still needs to be enacted into law by Congress.
Drilon authored the SSL 4 in the 16th Congress, but the bill was stalled in the bicameral conference committee of both houses of Congress, prompting the issuance of EO 201 that puts into effect the monthly salary increases of state workers for the year 2016, as proposed under the SSL 4 that the current Congress failed to pass.
With PNA
54 comments
Tulungan naten si Rep. Martin Romualdez para matulungan din nya tayo upang magkaroon tayo ng trabaho. 🙂
Panawagan ni Romualdez sa susunod na administrasyon na patatagin ang infrastructure development upang makalikha ng mga trabaho at maka-akit ng mga negosyo mula sa ibang bansa. Galing talaga! #malasakit
lalong binibigyan nyo kami nang dahilan Cong. Martin na humanga at suporta pa sa daming mong gusto malasakitan..sana maituloy ang SSL Law
SSL 4? Wow. Sana nga maipatupad yan. Salamat po Cong. Romualdez. #malasakit
sana mapatupad ang SSL 4 dahil maraming mamamayan ang makikinabang dito. #teamRomualdez.
maraming maraming salamat po sainyo cong martin romualdez sa pagmamalasakit at pagbibigay sa amin ng trabaho dahil dito marami po ang inyong matutulungan upang magkaroon po ng magandang estado sa buhay..
kapag naipatupad ang SSl 4. maraming Pilipino ang matutulungan neto. galing mo po talaga Cong. Romualdez! 🙂
dapat lang na mapatupad ang SSL 4 at alam ko na andyan si Cong. Romualdez upang tumulong saten na mapatupad ito. #malasakit
Alam ko na si Cong. Romualdez ang unang una na papayag sa SSL 4 kasi alam nya na marami matutulungan dto.
kung para sa pagsulong ng kabuhayan, edukasyon at kalusugan asahan naten si Cong. Romualdez ang unang tutulong saten. #malasakit
Ngayon para sa mga PWDs ng bansa, sa susunod naman trabaho para sa walang trabaho at SSL4. Dabest ka talaga Cong. Romualdez! #malasakit
Salamat po Cong. Romualdez dahil sa ibinibigay nyo saamin na pagmamalasakit. Sana mapatupad ang SSL 4.
para sa SSL law kami lalong susuporta sainyo Cong Martin
nag titiwala kami kay cong.romualdez dahil may malasakit, sainyo ang supporta namin
si cong.romualdez lang ang may malasakit sa atin at sinusopprtahan ko ang kayang kandidatura
ang may malasakit ang kailangan natin walang iba kundi si cong.romualdez
believe kami sa Malasakit mo Cong. Martin sana maipasa na SSL Law para masaya din ang mga mangagawa.
nagtitiwala kami kay cong.romualdez dahil sa malasakit nya marami ang matutulungan supportahan po natin sya
si cong.romualdez at ang malasakit nya para sa ating bayan ang mag papatunay na karapat dapat syang supportahan
ang malasakit ni cong.martin romualdez ang kailangan ng ating bayan at nating mga pilipino
sa lahat ng kandidato sainyo ako humahanga sa sobrang talino Cong. Martin ang may malasakit matutuwa nyan ang mga workers sa SSL law
yang ang iboboto ko s pag ka senador si cong. martin na. xa lang nmn ang may malasakit sa atin. push ntn nn mpknggan po cong martin ang SSL
ang kandidatong ang may totoong malasakit sa bayan si Cong. Martin lang kaya sa SSL Law isa sa pagmalasakit ulit nyan.
mas lalo ko pa kau nakilala cong martin dhl s pag mamalasakit mo at mas lalo ko po kau susuportahan
hindi tayo pinapabayaan ni Cong. Martin sya ang totoong nagmamalasakit saatin sna ok yan na SSL Law.
totoong may malasakit sa bawat pamilya si Cong. Martin go sa SSL Law.
yup mkhang alam ko n ang kandidato ko s pag ka senador kau po ang una ko s listahan cong. martin dhl naniniwala po ako s pag mamalasakit mo lalo n s pag papaprioritize mo s usaping SSL.
yesss makakaahon na kami kung maapprove yan na SSL law . slamat Cong. Martin sa malasakit
buo ang supporta ko sau cong. romualdez kau lang nkitaan ko ung totoong may malasakit s bansa slamat s pag suporta tungkol s SSL
ikaw ang Senador namin Mr. Malasakit Cong. Martin malaking tulong saamin yan SSL na yan.
sana po ay maipasa po ang ganitong oportunidad sa ating bansa upang lahat ay magkaroon ng karagdagang sahod ang mga manggagawa,salamat po sa malasakit cong martin romualdez.
malaki ang maitutulong ng SSL. Salamat po sa malasakit ni Sir Martin Romualdez!
sigurado n ang pwesto ni cong. martin s senado dhl s pag mamalasakit niya s bayan lalo n s pag suporta s SSL
saiyo ang suporta namin Cong. Martin slamat sa bill na dagdag sahod ng mga mangagawa.
I support Cong. Romualdez in his malasakit regarding SSL-4..sana po ay tuloy-tuloy na ito.
sana nga po cong martin maipasa po ang ganitong tulong upang may pagasa naman po akming mahihirap na umunlad.
magkakaroon na din ng dagdag sahod ang mga gov’t. employees. magpatuloy na po sana ito. Susuportahan po namin si Cong. Romualdez sa pagsulong nito.
good news yan cong martin, many people are happy nyan, so we’ll support you to become senator.
salamat po sainyo cong martin sa pagbibigay po ng karagdagang sahod sa bawat naghahanap buhay, sana aay maipasa po ito, samalat po.
that’s what we need, concern for our people. So let us support Cong. Romualdez
we support Cong . Martin thanks to this bill.
ang totoong may malasakit s bayan, yan si cong. martin romualdez, malaking tulong ang pag pprioritize po s SSL slamat po.
marami po kaming susuporta saimyo cong martin. para maipasa ang tulong nyo po sa amin, salamat po sa malasakit samin cong. martin.
mas lalo ko hinangaan si cong. martin dhl s pag prioritize nya s SSL at s pag bbgy malasakit nya s dto kaya sknya mappnta ang boto ko s pag ka senador.
lalo po kami cong. martin humahanga sa pagiging mapagmalasakit mo po sana po ay maipasa po yan upang makatulong po sa amin. susuportahan kapo namin.
walang labis at walng kulang ang support ko para s inyo cong. romualdez..alam nmn ang walang hanggang pag mamalasakit m para s bayan..slamat s pag suporta para maipasa ang SSL at iprioritize to
we support u all d way cong. martin romualdez lalo n s pag prioritize ng salary.. ksama ang family ko sayo lang ang boto nmn..salamat s malasakit po..
susuporta po akmi sainyo cong martin upang maisulong po yan dahil laking tulong po nyan sa amin. slamat po sa malskit.
yan ang karapat dapat para s senado si cong. martin romualdez, kht kailan ang pag mamalaskit ang una para s knya lalo n ang pag papataas ng salary ng mga manggagawa.. sna mpknggan yan..
susuportahan kapo namin para sa salary standardization cong martin dahil yon po ang kailngan namin.salamat po.
lalo pong nagkakaroon po kami ng pagasa upang umangat ang aming pamumuhay kaya sana po ay maisulong ang ganitong plano salamat po cong martin sa malasakit.
salamat po sa uportunidad na ito upang lumaki naman po ang sahod naming mga mangagawa, sana p;o cong martin ay maisulong po ito. susuportahan ko po kayo.
“We laud this act of the President although it was long overdue. But since this [EO] will only cover this year’s salary hike, we should continue to remain steadfast to pass a law that would ensure a permanent pay increase for government workers in the next three years,” 100% support for cong. romualdez for saying this dahil dito nakikita ang malasakit niya sa mga mangagawang pilipino,. isulong sng SSL4 para sapat mamuhay lahat ng mga nasa sector ng uring mangagawa… mapa pribado man yan o gobyerno…
dito sa aming lugar no1 ka cong. romualdez dahil sayong mga malaskit sa kapwa at sa lahat ng tao ninais mo na maging senador para makasilbi sa mas maraming pilipino hangad namin na makapasok ka sa senado rep. martin romualdez… more power po… sa makalusot na yang isinusolong nyong SSL4 para sa ikauunlad ng lahat lalo na sa ibat ibang larangan ng mga uring mangagawa