Bill hiking gov’t economic relief allowance to P7k filed in House

House Deputy Speaker and TUCP Party-list Rep. Raymond Demorito Mendoza has proposed to set the Personnel Economic Relief Allowance for government employees at P7,000, subject to a yearly review, and institutionalize it as a permanent provision for civil servants.

On Monday, Mendoza filed House Bill 6537 or the “Dagdag Pera Act” in a bid to uphold the welfare of government employees.

In the bill’s explanatory note, Mendoza noted that existing policies governing the grant of the PERA “lack the permanency and strategic responsiveness” of a law, making such policies inadequate to meet evolving needs of the times.

“There is an urgent need to establish a robust policy that has the agility to respond to inflation, whether caused by the natural rise in the price of basic goods and services, or the abrupt spikes of prices triggered by natural calamities or man-made disasters,” he said.

First granted in 1991 to government employees in plantilla positions, the PERA is currently at P2,000 as set by a joint resolution of both chambers of Congress.

Mendoza said the current rate for the PERA “does not sufficiently satisfy the essential problem of inflationary price increases it seeks to address.”

HB 6537 proposed to set the PERA at P7,000, subject to annual review and upward adjustment to account for inflation. It stressed that the PERA should not be reduced.

The PERA will be granted to civilian government employees in national or local governments, state and local universities and colleges, appointive or elective, and whether occupying regular, contractual, or casual positions, as well as uniformed personnel.

The PERA will be exempt from all forms of taxation and government mandated deductions.

The funds needed for the grant of the PERA will be included in the national budget in the case of employees of national government agencies. In the case of local government units (LGUs), the PERA shall be charged against their local funds while it will be charged against the corporate funds in the case of government-owned and/or controlled corporations. — JMA, GMA Integrated News