A BILL doubling the monthly subsidy given to government employees, military and uniformed personnel to P4,000 has been filed at the Senate.
“With the worsening inflation rate or the increasing costs of some common services and products purchased by consumers, the amount of personnel economic relief allowance received by government workers is no longer significant,” Senator Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada, who heads the Senate labor committee, said in a statement in Filipino on Sunday.
“It is timely to raise the relief allowance to P4,000 per month to cover the expenses of government workers who usually respond to public duties, especially during times of crisis and calamity,” he added.
Senate Bill 1027 or the Augmented Personnel Economic Relief Allowance bill will cover national and local civilian government workers occupying regular, contractual or casual positions, whether appointive or elective, as well as military and police.
Those stationed overseas already receiving overseas allowances will not be entitled to the allowance.
Funding in the first year of the bill’s implementation will be charged against savings of the National Government, funds for local government units and corporate funds for government-owned or -controlled corporations.
Thereafter, the budget will be taken from the annual budget. — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan