MANILA – Saying it may be too onerous to the government, President Rodrigo Duterte vetoed a measure seeking to expand the survivorship benefits to dependents of deceased retired officials of constitutional offices.
In his veto letter to the House of the Representatives and the Senate dated April 12 and released to the public on Monday, Duterte expressed his apprehension on the bill.
“I am apprehensive that the provisions granting benefits beyond the current compensation framework for other government offices may prove to be too onerous,” the President said.
“The new benefits introduced in the bill would erode the government’s thrust to standardize the current compensation framework in the bureaucracy,” he added. “It will also create too much disparity and inequality in the pay of public servants.”
The chief executive said the additional benefits proposed are not granted to any government official “under the current government compensation framework.”
The vetoed measure aims to amend Republic Act 10084, which grants benefits to surviving legitimate spouses of deceased retired officials of the Commission on Audit, Civil Service Commission, Commission on Elections and the Ombudsman.
The measure wishes to extend the benefits all the way to the dependent children of deceased solo parents, surviving parents or nominated persons of the deceased retirees./PN
