Capitol allocates P13.6M for “extra cash” windfall

QUALIFIED Capitol employees and officials would be P10T richer as the Sangguniang Panlalawigan approved last Friday P13.6 million for the extra cash gift. The windfall grant was contained in a letter of Gov. Erico Aumentado forwarded to SP last week after the approval of an Ordinance appropriating P13.6 million for the bonus. This is aside from the usual P5,000 cash gift and 13th month pay bonus (equivalent to one month salary) that each employee will receive at the end of every year.

Vice-Gov. Julius Caesar Herrera hopes that the windfall would help alleviate the hardships the employees are facing today. The windfall (extra cash bonus) is expected to be released by first week of December depending on how fast payroll makers can make it, according to officials concerned. The SP secretariat, in-charge of the ordinance preparation is expected to finish this week the preparation draft Ordinance for signature of officials concerned. Earlier, Capitol issued a memorandum to all office chiefs to start processing payrolls for P5,000 cash gift and 13th month pay bonus in time for release this week.

Capitol, however, is awash with talks that the present administration is contemplating to allocate P10,000 for the Collective Negotiation Agreement. But there is no concrete step on this even as the budget for 2007 has already been submitted to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan for scrutiny and approval. Employees are becoming weary that the granting of CNA bonus for 2005 and this year at P10,000 each have not been complied with by this present dispensation. City Mayor Dan Neri Lim has already announced during his Mayor's Report recently over DyRD that he will give out additional bonus in the amount of P15,000 to each regular City Hall employee.

The additional windfall is different from the regular cash goodies such as mandatory Cash gift of P5,000 and the 13th month pay. He said that aside from the regular city hall employees, public school teachers, who are paid by the city government, will also have their share of the windfall. He said he would ask officials concerned to determine how much he will give to the teachers concerned. He pointed out that the additional windfall is to give what is due to the employees and as an incentive for their work.

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