Duterte OKs gratuity pay for JO, contractual gov’t workers

Duterte signed Administrative Order No. 38 on Monday, allowing a one-time gratuity pay of PHP3,000 each to all government workers who rendered a total of at least four months of actual satisfactory performance of services, as stipulated in their respective contracts, as of Dec. 15, 2020, and whose contracts are still effective as of same date. (Pixabay photo)

MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte has authorized the grant of a one-time gratuity pay to contract of service (COS) and job order (JO) workers in government for their hard work, especially those part of the emergency Covid-19 response efforts.

Duterte signed Administrative Order No. 38 on Monday, allowing a one-time gratuity pay of PHP3,000 each to all government workers who rendered a total of at least four months of actual satisfactory performance of services, as stipulated in their respective contracts, as of Dec. 15, 2020, and whose contracts are still effective as of same date.

A gratuity pay of PHP2,000 will be given to job order and contractual government workers who have rendered “three months or more but less than four months”; PHP1,500 for workers who have rendered “two months or more but less than three months”; and PHP1,000 for workers who rendered “less than two months.”

Actual service refers to services rendered on-site, which means the COS and JO workers physically report for work at their designated stations.

Services rendered by COS and JO workers offsite during the period of community quarantine or work-from-home arrangement may also be considered as actual service subject to the discretion of the agency head and the availability of funds.

The order shall cover workers whose services are engaged through COS and JO by national government agencies (NGAs), state universities and colleges (SUCs), government-owned or -controlled corporations (GOCCs), and local water districts (LWDs).

For NGAs and SUCs, funds will be sourced from their respective available Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) allotment for the same program, activity or project where the compensation of workers engaged through COS and JO are sourced.

The agencies may also request the Department of Budget and Management for additional funds charged against their identified savings generated from the entirety of their respective MOOEs in case of deficiency.

For GOCCs and LWS, funds will be sourced from their respective approved corporate operating budgets.

Requests for the use of savings must be submitted by NGAs and SUCs to the DBM not later than five working days from the effectivity of the order, for endorsement to the Office of the President.

The said requests must be supported by a report on the number and names of workers engaged through COS and JO qualified for gratuity pay and certification from the budget officer that the required amount from the existing MOOE allotment is free from any obligation and may be declared as savings to cover the funding requirements for the grant of gratuity pay.

The DBM must release the corresponding Special Allotment Release Order and Notice of Cash Allocation as needed, upon approval of the President.

LGUs are encouraged to adopt in their respective offices the grant of gratuity pay to workers whose services are engaged through COS and JO, utilizing appropriate and available funding sources from their respective local government funds.