The House of Representatives approved on second reading a bill seeking to increase the salaries of civilian government employees, including nurses and teachers.

The chamber approved via voice vote House Bill No. 5712 or the proposed Salary Standardization Law (SSL) 5.

The bill, which was principally authored by Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez, proposes a four-year period salary increase for government officials and employees, with the first tranche of the adjustment set to be implemented in 2020 and the last tranche in 2023.

House appropriations committee chairman Isidro Ungab, sponsor of the bill, said the measure aims to attract and retain competent and committed civil servants and promote performance-based work among the public sector workers.

“The salaries of government personnel will be raised to a level closer to market rates while giving priority to the rank and file, consisting of sub-professional and professional categories,” Ungab said.

Ungab noted that the overall weighted average increases upon full implementation of the proposed law in fiscal year 2023 will be 23.4 percent.

He cited that the proposed minimum basic salary under the bill or Salary Grade 1 will be raised from PHP11,068 to PHP13,000 upon full implementation by 2023 in order to remain competitive with the minimum daily wage in the National Capital Region.

As part of the incentives under the total compensation framework, the measure also seeks to institutionalize the grant of mid-year bonus equivalent to one-month basic salary to those who have rendered at least 4 months of satisfactory service and are still in the service, to be given not earlier than May 15 of every year.

The existing year-end bonus equivalent to one-month basic salary and cash gift of PHP5,000, which are categorized under the standard allowances and benefits component of the total compensation framework, shall be given in November of every year.

In his December 13 letter to Senate President Vicente Sotto III and House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, President Rodrigo Duterte certified as urgent the bill implementing the SSL 5 for government workers.

“To address the need to further invigorate public service with efficiency and productivity by providing all government civilian personnel a just and equitable compensation responsive to their economic needs,” Duterte said in the letter released to the media. (PNA)