Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) General Manager Ed Monreal clarified Thursday, June 3, that they are looking for ways to help embattled airport staff deal with the order for them to return the hazard pay that they received in 2020.
Monreal said "there is a study being conducted" about the order of Commission on Audit (COA) to return the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) hazard pay given to some 2,000 contractual employees amounting to P54 million last year.
Specifically, they are trying to find a way to allow the airport staff to keep the monetary benefit.
Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Silvestre Bello III said during a televised briefing Thursday that it is possible that the hazard pay given to all contractual employees would be shouldered by the government so that they would no longer have to give it back.
In a memorandum dated May 24, 2021, LSERV Corporation, a private manning agency of MIAA, informed employees that the hazard pay released from March 17 to August 18, 2020 will be deducted from their salaries every month in compliance with the audit observation memorandum issued by the COA.
The company's Chief Operating Officer Joseph Angeles said they have exerted effort in requesting the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to include outsourced personnel in the grant of the COVID-19 hazard pay, but to no avail.