Albay 2nd district Rep. Joey Salceda (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)

Albay 2nd district Rep. Joey Salceda has told the Governance Commission on GOCCs (GCG) to update three-year-old salary schedule for employees of government corporations--that is, if the best available people are to be hired.

“I ask the [GCG] to commit to an implementation date for the new CPCS, last updated in 2021," Salceda, chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means, said in a statement Saturday, Jan. 25.

Salceda was referring to the new Compensation and Position Classification System (CPCS) for employees of government -owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs).

He said the last CPCS was issued in October 2021 under EO 150, s. 2021, or some three years ago.

“EO 150 is clear that the CPCS should have already been reviewed by October 2024. While we are in receipt of an official GCG freedom of information disclosure suggesting that the review process is ongoing, they did not commit to a date for implementing the reviewed schedule,” he said.

“Cost of living has increased by as much as 16.6 percent from 2021 to 2024. EO 150 very clearly states that a reason for the review is “the possible erosion in purchasing power due to inflation and other factors,”” the economist-solon noted.

Salceda says the lowest-level technical staff monthly pay for a GOCC is now just at around P35,000.

He says this is as little as half of what the same people with the same skills can get being stay-at-home virtual assistants. 

"So, we will not be able to recruit the best for our GOCCs. And we will find it hard to retain talent,” the Bicolano pointed out. 

Salceda also asked the GCG to "act on all other pending requests by sui-generis GOCCs for a review of their compensation schedules".. 

"Some have not been paid for months. This is unfair," he said.

“The idea that the CPCS has to be reviewed is that we expect service on par with the private sector when it comes to GOCCs. This 2024, GOCCs remitted some P136.29 billion in dividends, well above their P100 billion target. 

"If they don’t perform well, we will be forced to instead collect the revenues they are supposed to generate from Filipinos as taxes. And that’s the last thing we want to do," he explained.

“Given the performance of our GOCCs, recovering very quickly from Covid-19 and exceeding their revenue targets, a CPCS update is justified," Salceda further said.

“I can even agree to higher targets for revenue and dividends to the [national government] to come with the CPCS increase – so we get the bang for our buck quickly. But let’s not deprive GOCC employees of what is justly theirs," he concluded.