DBM: Gov’t workers to get up to P20K SRI starting Dec. 15

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said Friday over 1.8 million workers in the government will receive as much as P20,000 starting Dec. 15, 2023.

This developed after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. approved the grant of a one-time Service Recognition Incentive (SRI) to state workers.

“This is in recognition of the tireless dedication of our public servants. This is one way of making them feel that the government acknowledges their good work and efficient performance. On behalf of the DBM, I commend President BBM for approving Administrative Order No. 12 authorizing the grant of the Service Recognition Incentive—which has been implemented since 2019—to government employees for fiscal year 2023,” said Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman.

“As the Order notes, the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. ‘recognizes all government employees for their collective and invaluable contribution to the government’s continuing efforts in pursuing the objectives, commitments, targets, and deliverables under the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028 and the President’s Eight-Point Socioeconomic Agenda,” added Pangandaman.

Under AO 12, government employees shall receive a one-time SRI at a uniform rate not exceeding P20,000.

Government personnel entitled to receive SRI include the following:

For the Executive Branch: civilian personnel in national government agencies (NGAs), including those in state universities and colleges (SUCs), and government-owned or -controlled corporations (GOCCs) occupying regular, contractual, or casual positions; and military personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines under the Department of National Defense, and uniformed personnel of the Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection, and Bureau of Jail Management and Penology under the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the Bureau of Corrections under the Department of Justice, the Philippine Coast Guard under the Department of Transportation, and the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. For Legislative and Judicial Departments and other offices vested with fiscal autonomy, local water districts, and in agencies exempted from the coverage of RA 6758. For local government units (LGUs), the grant of the SRI shall be determined by their respective sanggunian depending on the LGU’s financial capability, subject to the PS limitation in LGU budgets under RA 7160.

To qualify to receive SRI, AO 12 outlines the following conditions:

The civilian personnel are occupying regular, contractual, or casual positions. The personnel are still in the government service as of 30 November 2023. The personnel have rendered at least a total or an aggregate of four months of satisfactory service as of November 30, 2023, inclusive of services rendered under any of the alternative work arrangements prescribed by the Civil Service Commission. Those who have rendered less than a total or an aggregate of four months of satisfactory service as of November 30, 2023 shall be entitled to a prorated SRI. The employees have not received any additional year-end benefit in FY 2023 over and above the benefit authorized under Republic Act (RA) 6686, as amended by RA 8441.

Meanwhile, excluded from the SRI grant are “those who engaged without employer-employee relationship and whose compensation are funded from non-Personnel Services (PS) appropriations/budgets, such as consultants and experts engaged for a limited period to perform specific activities or services with expected outputs; laborers engaged through job contracts (pakyaw) and those paid on piecework basis; student workers and apprentices; and individuals and groups of people whose services are engaged through job orders, contracts of service or other similarly situated.”

A complete list of qualifications to receive the SRI, the exclusions from the grant, and the list of other qualified personnel to receive the one-time incentive may be accessed through the Official Gazette (Administrative Order No. 12, s. 2023). — VDV, GMA Integrated News