Duterte authorizes one-time gratuity pay for contract, project-based government staff

by Alexis Romero – Philstar.com, 29 Dec 2021

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte has approved the granting of a one-time gratuity pay to contract of service and job order workers in government, saying it would recognize their hard work in implementing state programs, including pandemic response efforts.

Under Administrative Order No. 46 that Duterte signed on Wednesday, all workers whose services are engaged through contracts of service and job orders, have rendered at least four months of actual satisfactory performance of services as of Dec. 15, and whose contracts are still effective as of that date may receive a gratuity pay not exceeding P5,000 each.

Workers who have served for less than four months as of Dec. 15 may also receive a gratuity pay on a pro rata basis. Those who have rendered services for at least three months are entitled to a one-time gratuity pay not exceeding P4,000. Workers who have served for at least two months will get a gratuity pay of not more than P3,000 while those who have rendered services for less than two months will get a pay not exceeding P2,000.

The order defined actual service as services rendered on-site. Subject to the discretion of the agency heads and the availability of funds, services rendered by the contract of service and job order workers offsite, including those rendered under work- from-home arrangements, during the quarantine period may also be considered as actual service. It covers workers whose services are directly engaged through contracts of service and job orders by national government agencies, state universities and colleges, government-owned or controlled corporations, and local water districts.

Duterte noted that contract of service and job order workers are required by their respective agencies to report for work regardless of the community quarantine status and mobility restrictions to ensure the continuous and responsive delivery of government services. He added that contract of service and job order workers do not enjoy benefits given to regular state employees like the personnel economic relief allowance, mid-year and year-end bonuses, and performance-based bonus.

National agencies and state-run universities and colleges may source the gratuity pay from their respective maintenance and other operating expenses budget for the program, activity, or project where the compensation of workers engaged through contract of service and job order workers are sourced.

For state-run firms and local water districts, the gratuity pay may be charged against their approved corporate operating budgets.

The order also enjoined local governments to adopt the grant of gratuity pay to their contract of service and job order workers. The supplemental budget for the gratuity pay shall be enacted by local councils within the year.