Government workers hired under the contract of service (COS) and job order (JO) set-up will received their own yearend gratuity pay.

This, after President Duterte signed on Wednesday, Dec. 29, administrative order (AO) no.46, which authorizes the grant of a one-time gratuity pay of not more than P5,000 to COS and JO workers.

"All workers whose services are engaged through COS and JO, who have rendered a total or an aggregate of at least four months of actual satisfactory performance of services, as stipulated in their respective contracts, as of 15 December 2021, and whose contracts are still effective as of the same date, may be granted a one-time gratuity pay not exceeding each," read the three-paged AO.

The financial benefit was somewhat foreshadowed by Cabinet Secretary and Acting Presidential Spokesperson Karlo Nograles on Tuesday, a day after the Chief Executive signed AO no.45.

The previous AO grants a one-time service recognition incentive or SRI of not exceeding P10,000 to government workers occupying regular, contractual, or casual positions as of Nov. 30, 2021.

"Granting a year-end gratuity pay to COS and JO workers is a well-deserved recognition of their hard work in implementing programs, projects and activities, including those which are part of the emergency COVID-19 (coronavirus disease) response efforts of the government," AO no.46 stated.

COS and JO workers who have a tenure of less than four months will still get a gratuity pay.

"Those who have rendered less than four months of actual satisfactory performance of service, as stipulated in their respective contracts, as of 15 December 2021, and whose contracts are still effective as of the same date, may also be granted the one-time gratuity pay, on a pro-rate basis," it further stated.

A maximum of P4,000 will be given to COS and JO workers who served three months or more, but less than four months; a maximum of P3,000 to those who served two months or more, but less than three months; and a maximum of P2,000 to those who served less than two months.

"The order shall cover workers whose services are directly engaged through COS and JO by national government agencies (NGA), state universities and colleges (SUCs), government-owned or controlled corporations (GOCCs) and local water districts (LWDs)," the Palace directive read.

"While COS and JO workers in the government are paid salaries/ wages equivalent to those received by personnel occupying comparable positions in government and a premium of up to 20 percent of such salary/wage, they do not enjoy benefits accorded to regular government employees such as the personnel economic relief allowance, mid-year and year-end bonuses and performance-based bonus, among others, as they have not enough employer-employee relationship with the government," it noted.