(MANILA BULLETIN)

If he would have his way, Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas senatorial slate member Benhur Abalos said he would ensure that the 832,000 contract-of-service (COS) and job order (JO) workers in government would get regular gratuity pay and incentives, especially during Christmas.

Citing his experience as mayor of Mandaluyong City, Abalos lamented how disheartening it is to see that during Christmas, COS and JO workers do not receive any incentives because doing so is in violation of existing Commission on Audit (COA) and Department of Budget and Management (DBM) circulars.

Unlike regular government employees holding permanent, casual, temporary, and co-terminus positions, JO and COS workers do not receive standard employment benefits.

Based on the 2023 data from the DBM, JO and COS employees make up 29.68 percent of the government workforce. Over Around 580,000 work in the local government units (LGUs) and about 173,227 in various national government agencies.

COS engages individuals, firms, or other entities as consultants, learning service providers, or technical experts for special projects within a defined period, while a JO refers to piece work or intermittent/emergency jobs performed for a short duration on specific tasks.

“Pero pagdating sa benepisyo, minimum benefits, ang kawawa lalo na yung dalawa (But when it comes to benefits, these two are pitiful)," said Abalos, also a former Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) secretary.

“Huwag kayo mag-alala...yung mga JO o mga service contractors. Basta nandiyan na po tayo, gagawa tayo ng batas na maski incentive pay, gratuity pay, meron po kayo n’yan. You deserve it,” the administration senatorial bet said.

(To the JOs and service contractors, don't worry. If and when I'm there in the Senate, I will craft a law that will entitle you to incentive pay, and gratuity pay. You deserve it.)

Aside from LGUs which have 580,323 JO and COS workers, other agencies with the same job arrangements are national government agencies with 173,227; state universities and colleges with 44,168 workers; government-owned and-controlled corporations with 28,667 and local water districts with 6,427 workers.