No 2019 budget, no pay hike — DBM
State workers should not expect any salary increase for now.
On Wednesday, Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) will not release the scheduled wage increase for government workers unless Congress approves the much-delayed 2019 national budget.
Diokno said they have no legal basis to implement the scheduled wage increase without the approved 2019 General Appropriations Act (GAA) that Congress failed to pass before the end of last year.
The law enacting budget appropriations is the only legal basis they have to implement the fourth tranche of salary adjustments for state workers, Diokno said.
“The DBM cannot implement the scheduled hike for 2019 without legal basis, which is still pending in Congress,” Diokno told reporters.
Even President Duterte has no legal authority to implement the pay hike without the 2019 GAA, the budget chief said.
Earlier, House Majority Leader Rolando Andaya Jr. warned that he will sue DBM if the department will not implement the salary increase on January 15 this year, which Diokno just shrugged off.
He explained that Executive Order 201, series of 2016, explicitly stated that the salary adjustment is “subject to appropriations by Congress.”
Diokno, however, assured that the fourth tranche of salary adjustment will be implemented as soon as the 2019 budget is passed and will be applied retroactively from January 1, 2019. In effect, government employees will receive salary differentials within the year.
Meanwhile, Diokno said the government is planning to introduce additional salary adjustments during the last three-years of the Duterte administration, but the details will still be fine-tuned.
Diokno said the goal is to make government wages to be at par with those at the private sector.
“We are going to hire a third party to study the wage structure at this time for the 2020 to 2022 salary adjustment,” Diokno said. “What we are doing now is that what will be the salary structure of the private sector, we will compare our salary structure.”
Palace-Congress row blamed
Meanwhile, a big government employees’ group blamed squabbling Malacañang and Congress officials for putting in danger the implementation of the scheduled salary increases for 2019.
Ferdinand Gaite, president of the Confederation for Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees (Courage), said uncertainties in the implementation of the pay hike are “due to the infighting in Congress and Malacañang.” Gaite said both the legislative and the executive departments want to “get a bigger piece of the pie” from the corruption-laden budget.
“This delay has further aggravated the delivery of social services and the meager salary increase for government employees,” he said as government workers started picketing the Civil Service Commission to air their demand for the immediate implementation of the salary hike.
Senior Deputy Minority Leader and Buhay Partylist Rep. Lito Atienza warned the feud may likely adversely affect administration senatorial candidates, including bets personally endorsed by President Duterte in the coming elections.
House Majority Leader and Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr. said the blame should be put squarely on Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno for his refusal to implement a law authorizing the implementation of salary increases in the government sector until 2019.
Andaya vowed to petition the Supreme Court to direct Diokno in carrying out the salary adjustments by January 15.
He pointed out that funding for the pay increase could be easily sourced considering that President Duterte has recently signed Joint Resolution No. 3 that the Congress passed in order to extend the personnel service and capital outlay of the 2018 national budget until the end of 2019.
“Secretary Diokno should stop treating the national budget as his personal kitty. Hindi niya pera ito. Pera ito ng mamamayan (It’s not his money. The money belongs to the citizens),” said Andaya.
“Our civil servants deserve the salary increase due them this year. Pay them now, not later,” stated the House official.
Andaya noted that even Sen. Franklin Drilon has “taken a stand similar to mine.”
Drilon, Andaya explained, correctly pointed out that the Diokno’s department no longer has to wait for the approval of the 2019 GAA in order to implement the fourth tranche of the salary increase.
“The non-passage of the 2019 national budget is a non-issue in the implementation of the salary increase because the money is there and the authorization is there,” Andaya pointed out.
He also urged Diokno not to use the nonimplementation of the salary hike in getting back at congressmen who have are critical of his role in the alleged budget irregularities.