Will the government workers left out from Malacañang's yearend service recognition incentive (SRI) get their own gratuity pay?
Cabinet Secretary and Acting Presidential Spokesperson Karlo Nograles did not close the door on this and instead said it's better to wait for President Duterte's next move.
"Ayokong pangunahan 'no si Pangulong Duterte doon sa gratuity pay. Hintayin na lang po natin (I don't want to preempt President Duterte about the gratuity pay. Let's just wait for it)," Nograles said in a virtual press conference on Tuesday, Dec. 28.
"Pero doon sa na-announce natin na (But regarding the announced) service recognition incentive, hopefully this can be done as soon as possible. Kaya naglabas ng administrative order si Pangulo para mabilisan na rin pong maibigay sa ating fellow workers in government (The President issued the administrative order precisely to expedite its release to our fellow workers in government)," he said.
On Monday, President Duterte signed administrative order (AO) no.45, which grants a one-time SRI not more than P10,000 to eligible workers of government.
Civilian personnel occupying regular, contractual, or casual positions as of Nov. 30, 2021 are eligible to receive the yearend financial incentive.
However, the AO said that those engaged without employer-employee relationship and whose compensation are funded from non-personnel services (PS) appropriations/ budgets are excluded from the grant of SRI.
Specifically, consultants and experts engaged for a limited period to perform specific activities or services with expected outputs; laborers engaged through job contracts (pakyaw) and those paid on piecework basis; students workers and apprentices; and individuals and groups of people whose services are engaged through job orders (JOs), contracts of service (COS) or others similarly situated are not qualified to receive the SRI.
"Sa gratuity pay, hintayin natin. Wag nating pangunahan (As for the gratuity pay, let's wait. Let's not preempt it). But let's wait for it," Nograles said.
In his pre-taped "Talk to the People" public briefing on Tuesday morning, Duterte said that the release of the SRI would take place "hopefully before new year".