Gov't employees to get performance bonus after Dec. 14 — DBM

Government employees whose performance have qualified them for the Performance Enhancement Initiative (PEI) will get it after Dec. 14, the Department of Budget and Management said Wednesday. According to the Department, government employees eligible for the PEI are civilian personnel who occupy regular, contractual, or casual positions, whether appointive or elective, full-time or part-time; military personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Department of National Defense; and uniformed personnel of the Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, the Philippine Coast Guard, and the National Mapping Resource Information Authority.   Government employees that are not qualified to receive the performance bonus include employees found guilty of administrative and criminal charges and “consultants and hired experts, laborers hired through job contracts and paid on a piecework basis, student interns, and individuals or groups engaged through job orders or contracts of service,” said Abad. Whether they receive the PEI or not, government workers will also receive the second half of their 13th month pay and a cash gift. The PEI is one component of the Aquino administration’s Performance-Based Incentive System (PBIS). According to Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, the President in 2010 set the release period for the PEI at December “not only to establish national government savings in a credible, transparent way, but also to help our 1.25 million government employees deal with yuletide expenses.” “The PEI is one of the ways through which we hope to motivate our government workers so they are better-positioned to serve the Filipino public,” he added. On Monday, teachers staged a carolling session outside the DBM to protest this year's PEI amount, which at P5,000 is half of that given out in 2011. — BM, GMA News