Government workers are getting closer to receiving a salary increase as Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman already signed National Budget Circular No. 597, outlining the guidelines for the second tranche of the salary increase.
“We hope that this second tranche will provide much-needed financial relief and allow our government workers to better support their families, invest in their futures, and enhance their overall quality of life," Pangandaman said in a statement released on Wednesday, Jan. 22.
The move to ink the second of the four tranches is “in line with the implementation of the updated Salary Schedule for the Civilian Personnel,” an executive order (EO) signed by the president in August last year.
According to EO No. 64, the four-tranche salary increase for government employees should start in January 2024 and be finalized in January 2027.
Based on the guidelines, the salary hike applies to all civilian government personnel across various branches, agencies, state universities and colleges (SUCs), and government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs), regardless of appointment status or work arrangement—whether regular, casual, or contractual; appointive or elective; and on a full-time or part-time basis.
It was also clarified that the increase excludes military and uniformed personnel (MUP), certain government agencies, and individuals in non-employee roles like consultants, laborers on contract (pakyaw), those paid on piecework basis, student workers and apprentices, and those engaged through job orders, contracts of service, or similar arrangements.
The salary adjustments for civilian government workers will be funded through the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund and other available appropriations under the approved national budget for 2025.
Likewise, government-owned enterprises covered by the Circular, “the amounts shall be charged against their respective corporate operating budgets, as approved by the DBM.”
The DBM also noted that guidelines for local government units (LGUs) will be released in a separate Circular.