The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has released P31.93 billion for salary increase for government employees as of Tuesday, Sept. 10.
The DBM said it has begun distributing funds for salary adjustments, and the implementation is now underway across government agencies.
This came after President Marcos signed Executive Order No. 64 on Aug. 2, 2024, approving the Salary Standardization Law VI, which provides salary increases for all civilian government employees.
Simultaneously, the department launched the Salary Standardization Law VI (SSL VI) dashboard.
“It is a tool designed to provide real-time data on the budget releases for easier monitoring and effective oversight,” the DBM said in a statement on Tuesday, Sept. 11.
Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman said the new salary increase dashboard reflects the government's commitment to transparency and will keep the public and stakeholders updated on budget releases in real time.
As of this writing, a total of P31.93 billion has been released to 257 departments/agencies, while 58 more are now being processed.
Pagandaman stressed that the DBM is speeding up budget releases to all agencies. She also urged department heads to quickly distribute the retroactive salary increases, which are effective from January of this year.
The department’s new dashboard is now live on their website, providing real-time updates on fund releases based on agencies' submitted requests.
Earlier, Pangandaman said that the DBM has allocated P106 billion to support President Marcos' directive to increase the salaries of government employees.
Of that amount, the DBM has set aside P36 billion for this year and an additional P70 billion for next year to ensure the implementation of the salary increase's first and second tranches.
Pangandaman explained that the 2024 budget allocation falls under Personnel Services expenditures, while the funding for the next year has been included in the 2025 National Expenditure Program, which outlines the administration's proposed budget.
She said the salary raise would be in addition to the medical allowance that government workers will receive as an extra perk beginning next year. (Derco Rosal)