As a well-deserved recognition for their hard work, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has ordered the grant of gratuity pay for contract of service (COS) and job order (JO) government workers, Malacañang said.
The Office of the Press Secretary (OPS) said this after Marcos signed Administrative Order (AO) No. 3 on December 23, or two days before Christmas.
The said AO states a one-time gratuity pay not exceeding P5,000 await government 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 service, as stipulated in their respective contracts, as of December 15, 2022, and whose contracts are still effective as of the same date.
"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 and pivotal role in the delivery of government services amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and present socio-economic challenge," AO No. 3 read.
For those who have rendered less than four months of actual satisfactory performance of service, they may also be granted a one-time gratuity pay on a pro-rata basis:
- An amount not exceeding P4,000 for three months but less than four months
- An amount not exceeding P3,000 for those who have rendered two months but less than three months
- An amount not exceeding P2,000 for those who have yielded less than two months
The order covers workers whose services are directly engaged through COS and JO by national government agencies (NGAs), state universities and colleges (SUCs), government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs), and local water districts.
On the other hand, local government units (LGUs) are enjoined to adopt the grant of gratuity pay to their COS and JO workers in their respective offices.
Employees and workers in government rendering services through JO, COS, or other similarly situated working arrangements are likewise eligible to receive the one-time rice assistance authorized by the President through Administrative Order No. 2.