Sen. Nancy urges DBM to release ASAP 4th tranche of govt pay hike

Senator Nancy Binay today urged the Department of Budget and Management to prioritize the release of the fourth tranche of salary adjustment for government employees scheduled for 2019.

"Sana ngayong February ay mai-release na agad ng DBM ang fourth tranche ng salary adjustment para sa mga kawani ng pamahalaan," Binay said. "Malaking tulong po lalo na't malapit nanaman ang pasukan, at nakaambang ang adjustments sa oil products."

The senator made this statement after Senate finance committee chairperson Loren Legarda said that the salary hike for government workers this year can be taken from the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund (MPBF).

"Readily available at meron pong pondo para dito ang DBM. Di na po kailangan maghintay ng matagal para mai-release ang salary increase under SSL-IV," Binay added.

According to Binay, at least P75 billion from the MPBF is allotted for "payment of compensation adjustment" and "funding requirements for staffing modifications and upgrading and salaries," which could be used by the DBM for the fourth tranche of salary increases.

"Earlier, the DBM estimated the fourth tranche of wage hikes for government workers to be between P40 and P50 billion," Binay said.

"The P75 billion from the MPBF is more than enough to cover the fourth tranche salary increase and adjustments of the more than 1 million government employees in the country," she added.

The reenacted 2018 GAA, which the government is now using as its spending authority, provides that DBM may tap the MPBF to fund authorized personnel and benefit items, including pay increases.