Govt Employees to Get 13th Month Pay, Cash Gift

Manila — Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad announced that starting this week, government employees and officers will get the remaining half of their 13th month pay and cash gift before the coming Christmas.

Abad said, “For the past year, government employees have been working quietly and without fanfare for the good of the nation. It’s only proper that their efforts and hard work are given fair recognition. The year-end bonus and extra cash should help them prepare for the holiday season and its demands.”

Under Budget Circular 2010-1 first issued on 28 August 2010, government personnel are entitled to a year-end bonus equivalent to a month’s pay as well as a cash gift of P5,000. The budget circular covers civilian and uniformed personnel across all government departments and agencies, including regular co-terminus employees in government.

The funds for the bonuses and cash gifts for national government agencies (NGAs) are sourced from the 2014 National Budget. Government-owned or -controlled corporations (GOCCs) and government financial institutions (GFIs) will tap into their corporate funds for the bonuses, while local government units (LGUs) will source their perks from local government funds.

Abad noted that, “Funds to support the requirements of government personnel were released to the agencies at the very start of the year. The General Appropriations Act (GAA)-as-release-document ensures that funds are sufficiently available to the agencies from the very start, so that they can roll out the year-end bonuses and cash gifts at the appropriate time.”

Government employees and officers first received half of their 13th month pay and cash gift last May. This is because the first half of the bonus and cash gift can only be given not earlier than May 1 and the remaining half not earlier than November 15.

Last year, President Benigno S. Aquino III ordered an early release of the year-end bonus and cash gift to help government employees affected by Typhoon Yolanda. Prior to this, they also received their year-end bonuses early in the aftermath of Ondoy.(DBM)