BY GEROME DALIPE IV
ILOILO City – More than 2, 000 regular employees of the City Hall are set to receive an increase in their monthly salaries starting this month.
The City Council unanimously approved the P411.35-million supplemental budget, which includes a P19 million allocation to cover the across-the-board salary increase of the employees.
City Budget Officer Viminale Capulso said the four percent across-the-board salary increase, which took effect on Aug.2, is based on Executive Order 64 issued by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., which provides the updating of the salary schedule for civilian government personnel.
However, Capulso clarified the supplemental budget does not cover the supposed 21 months in back pay, which the city government did not implement according to Republic Act No. 11466, known as the Salary Standardization Law of 2019.
Andrew Murray Durano, administrative assistant at the Office of the City Veterinarian, had asked Mayor Jerry Treñas to comply with the Salary Standardization Law and fully disburse the backpay owed to the employees.
“I believe the Iloilo City Government still owes its permanent employees 21 months of salary increase backpay. Given your commitment to the welfare and well-being of our city’s government employees, I believe this matter might have been inadvertently overlooked,” said Duran.
Durano also wrote his position paper narrating the alleged failure of the City Hall to enforce the Salary Standardization Law fully.
“This will not only fulfill its legal obligations but also uphold the principles of fairness and equity in public service compensation,” said Durano in his position paper.
Treñas said Durano’s concern was forwarded to the City Legal Office for review.
In his position paper, Durano cited Section 11 of RA No. 11466 which provides that the salary schedule shall be implemented in four tranches, with the first tranche starting Jan. 1, 2020.
The second tranche is set for Jan. 1, 2021, while the third and fourth tranches have been scheduled starting Jan. 1, 2022, and Jan. 1, 2023, respectively.
For personnel of the local government units, the implementation period shall not be less than four years depending on their financial capabilities.
Durano, who is among the 31 “most outstanding city government employees” in 2023, said the LGUs are prohibited from delaying the initial implementation of the law beyond Jan. 1, 2020.
Durano pointed out the city government has not breached the personnel services (PS) ceiling from 2020 to 2023, as evidenced by its hiring of new employees and infrastructure projects, including a reported surplus of 400 million pesos in 2021.
He said the city government cannot use as an alibi the occurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic since such only affected the Philippines in the first quarter of 2020./PN
