BEYOND BUDGET

Assalamu alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. Schools teach us the importance of understanding the five Ms of Management of an enterprise or organization — money, machine, material, method, and manpower. Of these five, I believe that manpower is the most vital resource of all. For any organization, no matter how much money and materials it has, or how complex its methods and state-of-the-art machines are, still, manpower is without a doubt, the key to its success. Without it, other assets are rendered useless. It is with this premise that I convey my appreciation to the hard working and dedicated men and women in government. In his second State of the Nation Address, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. recognized the pool of highly competent and committed public servants. He said, “They love the Philippines, and have responded to our call.” On a more personal level, I have often reflected on how my public service journey afforded me the strength and the sheer will to push myself and break boundaries and stereotypes that goes with the job. And every time, I still feel amazed at how I was able to last this long. Public service, after all, is a thankless, challenging and yet a very fulfilling undertaking. It requires passion, sacrifice, dedication, and an unbending spirit where long and tedious hours are the norm. And it comes with a price when we often sacrifice the little time we have for ourselves and for our family, just so we can provide efficient and responsive services to our kababayans in need. What gives us comfort is the fact that at the end of the day, after a job well done or a task completed, we can say, “I did my country proud.” And so I am most grateful how our current administration is putting a premium on its most important resource — its personnel. We, in government, work in synergy to design and implement compensation and benefits packages to be competitive with that of the private sector. I believe this is necessary to show appreciation for our dedicated workers, and to encourage and attract brilliant and high-performing personnel who will trailblaze the positive changes and the way of life our people want to experience. These are not just rhetoric or lip service. Last January, we implemented the last tranche of Salary Standardization Law V, which increased the base pay of government employees. Further, under the 2023 General Appropriations Act, around ₱48 million was allocated under the Governance Commission for Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations  to support the conduct of a study on the government compensation structure. This is to ensure that the compensation of all civilian personnel will be competitive with those in the private sector. Apart from the conduct of the study, I have also instructed a review of the rates of the existing benefits being provided to government employees to assess if there is a need to adjust them in the future. In fact, as a result of our study, we have allocated additional funds in our 2024 National Expenditure Program to increase government workers’ uniform/clothing allowance by ₱1,000. I believe that such increases will greatly help defray expenses for the needs of our government workers.

Night shift differential pay

We all know how challenging it is to work during the night shift. Aside from not being with precious loved ones when they are at home and the family can gather, it takes a toll on one's health. It is why we have pushed for the enactment of regulations like the grant of night differential, which became law effective on April 13, 2022. Its Implementing Rules and Regulations took effect on Feb. 25, 2023. Under this law, government workers, who work between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. the following day are guaranteed a compensation premium that does not exceed 20 percent of their hourly basic rate. For public health workers, the rate shall not be lower than 10 percent of their hourly basic rate. This is on top of their current benefits and allowances. Tasked to administer the Compensation and Position Classification Systems in the government, yesterday, the Department of Budget and Management, GCG, and the Civil Service Commission, signed the Joint Circular (JC) on the Rules and Regulations of the Grant of Night Shift Differential to Government Employees. The JC was issued to ensure that the guidelines are properly and widely disseminated to guarantee uniform and accurate interpretation of the law. We do not want to leave any room for misconception, misunderstanding, or error in fulfilling the intention of the law. With this, we want to show our appreciation for our night shift workers, be they in the medical field, air traffic control, immigration, customs, emergency, communications, and many others. They are our modern-day heroes — service providers who make sure that government services are always running at optimal levels and available even at the most ungodly hours. On a more particular level, I wish to convey my unwavering admiration to the hard working men and women of the DBM — they who toll night and day and in between, just to ensure that our government will have the right amount of resources to be more efficient in the delivery of public service. They who have endured giving up their personal lives just to be more than equal to the task, going home in the wee hours of the morning after a long drawn deliberation and problem solving, only to report back to the office just after catching two hours of sleep, and prepare for another day. They who no longer have time for their families because of the essence of their work, so it is their families who adjust, and they who have given up even their own love life because accomplishing the task is more important than fulfilling their heart’s desire. They who have already shed their mortality for the government and have literally embraced immortality in the work place. Beyond budget, I am privileged because the PBBM administration supports and institutionalizes all efforts to safeguard government employees' health and welfare. To my mind, “Bagong Pilipinas” is indeed a beautiful clarion call and aspiration toward a brighter future for every Filipino. Beyond Budget, I am enthusiastic that the flame of quality public service will continue to blaze with passion and dedication as we endeavor to keep a united and cohesive path toward our nation’s rebuilding and growth. (Amenah F. Pangandaman is the current Secretary of the Department of Budget and Management.)