2nd Senate bill eyes 13th-month pay for contractual gov’t workers

FILE: Workers unload tanks of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from a delivery truck along Congressional Road in Barangay San Manuel II, Dasmariñas City, Cavite on Tuesday (Feb. 22, 2022). (PNA photo by Gil Calinga)

MANILA – Another senator added a proposal to grant 13th month pay to government contractual workers equivalent to the monthly basic compensation received by a regular state employee.

Senate Bill (SB) No. 1621 filed by Senator Ramon Revilla Jr. explained that the 13th month pay must be computed pro-rata, given to all regular employees pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 851 (13th Month Pay law) and the Labor Code of the Philippines.

“Nalalapit na ang Pasko pero marami tayong mga masisipag na empleyado na hindi makakatanggap ng 13th month pay. ‘Yung mga kasamahan nating contractuals at job orders sa gobyerno, walang matatanggap, eh kapwa din naman silang mga lingkod-bayan (Christmas is approaching but many of our hardworking employees will not receive their 13th month pay. They are our colleagues even if they are contractual or job order employees but they will receive nothing even if they are also public servants),” he said in a news release.

Senator Mark Villar filed SB 1528 or the 13th Month Pay Law for Contractual and Job Order Personnel in November as he recognized that Contract of Service (COS) and job order (JO) workers play vital roles in government service.

Villar’s bill mandates the payment of 13th-month pay to all government employees regardless of their employment status.

Revilla’s proposal will entitle COS or JO employees to benefits and allowances accorded to regular employees.

The Civil Service Commission defined COS as “the engagement of the services of an individual, private firm, other government agency, non-governmental agency or international organization as consultant, learning service provider or technical expert to undertake special project or job within a specific period.”

On the other hand, JO is “piece work (pakyaw) or intermittent or emergency jobs such as clearing of debris on the roads, canals, waterways, etc. after natural/man-made disasters/occurrences and other manual/trades and crafts services such as carpentry, plumbing, electrical and the like. These jobs are of short duration and for a specific piece of work.”

Based on the Inventory of Government Human Resources as of June, there are 2,462,534 workers in the government, with 642,077 or roughly 26 percent comprised of JO and COS personnel.

“Ang trabaho nila ay kasing bigat ng trabaho ng mga regular. Walang duda, sila rin ay kasing sipag ng ibang kawani ng gobyerno. Kaya nararapat lamang na bigyan rin natin sila ng benepisyo na natatanggap ng mga regular employee (Their work is similar to what regular employees perform. No doubt they are hardworking like any other government employees. It is but fair to give them benefits similar to what regular employees are receiving),” said Revilla, who chairs the Committee on Civil Service, Government Reorganization and Professional Regulation.

To date, there are also four bills in the Senate that seek to double the monthly Personnel Economic Relief Allowance of state workers from PHP2,000 to PHP4,000, filed by Senators Francis Escudero, Jinggoy Estrada, Villar and Revilla. (Leonel Abasola/PNA)