Marcos orders grant of service incentive, rice allowance to gov't employees

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has issued orders granting service incentive and rice allowance to government employees, Malacañang said on Saturday.

The service recognition incentive (SRI) will be a one-time grant at a uniform rate not exceeding P20,000 for employees in the executive department, it said.

"Those who are entitled to receive the incentive include civilian personnel in national government agencies (NGAs), covering those in state universities and colleges (SUCs), government-owned or controlled corporations (GOCCs), regular, contractual or casual employees, members of the military and the police, as well as fire and jail personnel under the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG)," Malacañang said, citing Marcos' administrative order.

Also included in the SRI grant are personnel from the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), and National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA).

Meanwhile, "employees of both houses of Congress, the Judiciary, Office of the Ombudsman and Constitutional offices may likewise be granted a one-time SRI by their respective heads of offices at a uniform rate not exceeding P20,000," the Palace said.

Depending on the local government units' financial capability and subject to limitation in their budgets as per Local Government code of 1991, employees in LGUs, including those in the barangays, may also receive SRI.

"The incentive for NGAs, SUCs, and military and uniformed personnel will be funded by the available released Personnel Services (PS) allotment under  Republic Act No. 11639 or the 2022 national budget," the Palace said.

Rice allowance

Meanwhile, the one-time rice assistance will be for government personnel including civilian personnel in NGAs, including those in SUCs, GOCCs, government financial institutions (GFIs), government instrumentalities with corporate powers, and government corporate entities occupying regular, contractual or casual positions, Malacañang said, citing Marcos' administrative order.

Also entitled to receive the rice assistance are personnel in the military, police, fire and jail units and facilities, as well as BuCor, PCG, and NAMRIA employees.

The rice assistance may also be given to individuals and groups of people whose services are engaged through job orders (JO), contracts of service (COS) or other similarly situated working arrangement defined under a Commission on Audit’s circular order.

Funding for the rice assistance for NGAs, military and uniformed personnel will come from the Contingent Fund under Republic Act No. 11639.

As for GOCCs, funding for the assistance will be taken from their approved operating budgets for fiscal year 2022, the Palace said. —KG, GMA Integrated News