Marcos grants P20K service recognition incentive to gov't employees

President Marcos has signed an administrative order granting P20,000 service recognition incentive (SRI) to government employees.

Administrative Order No. 40 dated December 11, approves the grant of a one-time SRI of up to P20,000 to personnel in the Executive branch, including civilian employees of national government agencies, state universities and colleges, and government-owned or -controlled corporations whether holding regular, contractual, or casual positions.

According to the order, also included are military personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines under the Department of National Defense, and uniformed personnel of the Philippine National Police, Philippine Public Safety College, Bureau of Fire Protection, and Bureau of Jail Management and Penology under the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

Uniformed personnel of the Bureau of Corrections under the Department of Justice, the Philippine Coast Guard under the Department of Transportation, and the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources were also included.

The payment of the SRI to all qualified government employees shall be made not earlier than December 15, the order said.

"The Administration recognizes all government employees for their collective and invaluable contributions to the government's continuing efforts in pursuing the objectives, commitments, targets, and deliverables under the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028 and the President's 8-Point Socioeconomic Agenda," AO No. 40 stated.

"For national government agencies, including SUCs and military and uniformed personnel, the incentive will come from their available 2025 personnel services (PS) budget under the 2025 General Appropriations Act. If this is not enough, they may use their maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE), following budget rules," it added.

For GOCCs, the SRI will be taken from their approved 2025 corporate operating budgets.

Employees of the Senate, House of Representatives, Judiciary, Office of the Ombudsman, and other constitutional offices with fiscal autonomy may also receive a one-time SRI of up to P20,000, depending on their available PS budgets.

The AO also states that for local government units (LGUs), including barangays, the grant and amount of SRI not exceeding P20,000 will be decided by their respective sanggunians based on their financial capacity and within the personnel services limits under the Local Government Code.

Employees in Local Water Districts (LWDs) may also receive SRI at a uniform rate up to P20,000 to be determined by the Board of Directors, chargeable against their respective corporate operating budgets for 2025.

"If an agency does not have sufficient funds, its qualified employees will still receive the SRI at a lower but uniform rate," the AO said.

Employees qualified to receive the SRI include civilian personnel occupying regular, contractual or casual positions; personnel who are still in government service as of November 30, 2025; and personnel who have rendered at least four months of service as of November 30, 2025.

Qualified employees who have rendered less than four months of service as of November 30, 2025 shall receive pro-rated SRI.

The order also states that the employees should not have received any additional year-end benefit in Fiscal Year 2025 over and above the benefits authorized under Republic Act 6686, as amended by RA No. 8441, to qualify for the SRI. —LDF, GMA Integrated News