(NAR) VOL. 7 NO. 2 / APRIL-JUNE 1996
WHEREAS, certain Government Financial Institutions
(GFIs) have been authorized to celebrate and commemorate milestone
anniversaries with the traditional grant of Anniversary Bonus to their
officials and employees;
WHEREAS, the government deems it
desirable and fitting to commemorate milestone anniversaries of GOCCs,
GFIs, and national government agencies as well by way of granting
anniversary bonus to their employees;
WHEREAS, the grant of
anniversary bonus on the occasion of milestone years of government
agencies will directly improve and enhance employee morale consistent
with Section 36(2), Chapter 5, Subtitle A, Title I, Book V of Executive
Order No. 292, the Administrative Code of 1987;
WHEREAS, there is
a need to regulate the grant of such benefit by adopting a uniform
scheme for its implementation to ensure fairness and equity and to
conform with the policy of standardization of compensation enunciated
under Republic Act No. 6758;
WHEREAS, Section 17 Article VII of
the 1987 Constitution vests in the President of the Philippines
prerogatives which include, among others the determination of the rates,
timing and schedule of payment, and final authority to commit limited
resources of government for the payment of personnel incentives, cash
rewards, bonuses and other forms of additional compensation and fringe
benefits to government personnel.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, FIDEL V.
RAMOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in
me by law, do hereby order the grant of Anniversary in accordance with
the rules prescribed hereunder:
1.0
Coverage/Exemption
1.1
All government personnel whether employed on a full-time or regular,
part-time basis or under permanent, temporary or casual status, and
contractual personnel whose employment is in the nature of a regular
employee, who have been appointed as such in a specific government
entity by virtue of a valid appointment and continue to be employed in
the same government entity as of the occasion of its milestone
anniversary, shall be entitled to the anniversary bonus.
1.2
Government personnel who have been found guilty of any offense in
connection with their work during the five-year interval between
milestone years, as defined in 2.5 herein, shall not be entitled to the
immediately succeeding anniversary bonus.
2.0
Rules and Regulations
2.1
"Government entities" shall refer to department, bureaus, offices,
commissions and similar bodies of the national government, including
GOCCs and GFIs; provided that staff bureaus or entities which form part
of the organization structure of departments or offices shall be deemed
absorbed by the latter and shall not be treated as a separate agency.
2.2
A frontline bureau or entity created as such under a distinct enabling
act or law and, thus, deemed as an institution in its own right shall be
considered a distinct and separate agency for purposes of this benefit
notwithstanding that fact that it had since been organizationally
integrated with a department or office.
2.3 The Anniversary Bonus authorized under this Order shall be granted only during milestone years.
2.4 A milestone year refers to the 15th anniversary and to every fifth year thereafter.
2.5
Payment of the Anniversary Bonus shall be in an amount not exceeding
P3,000.00 each employee provided that the employee has rendered at least
one (1) year service in the same agency as of the date of the milestone
year.
2.5.1 In case of insufficiency of funds, the
government entity concerned may grant the benefit at a rate lower than
that prescribed herein, provided that such rate shall be uniformly
applied to all its officials and employee.
2.6 An
employee may receive Anniversary Bonus only once every five years,
regardless of transfers from one government entity to another.
2.7
Government entities which have already passed a milestone year as
defined herein prior to the effectivity of this Order without previously
granting an anniversary bonus or a similar incentive may grant the
Anniversary Bonus therefor in 1996 subject to the same conditions
specified herein.
2.8 No other bonus or allowance or whatever
name it may be called of similar nature which relate to or in connection
with an entity's anniversary shall be granted.
2.9 Existing
administrative authorizations granting similar benefits to specific
government entities are hereby revoked and superseded by this
authorization.
3.0
Funding Source
The
cost of implementing the benefit under this Order shall be sourced
strictly from savings from released allotment for current operating
expenditures provided that all authorized mandatory expenses shall have
been paid first. For government-owned and/or controlled corporations and
government financial institutions the amount shall be charged against
their respective corporate funds.
4.0
Responsibility of the Agency Head
The
heads of concerned government entities shall be held responsible and
personally liable for any payment of Anniversary Bonus not in accordance
with the provisions of this Order, without prejudice to the refund of
any excess payment by the employee concerned.
5.0
Savings Clause
Cases
not covered by the provisions of this Order shall be submitted to the
Secretary of Budget and Management for appropriate evaluation and
recommendation to the Office of the President.
6.0
Effectivity
This Order shall take effect immediately.
Adopted: 28 March 1996
(SGD.) FIDEL V. RAMOS
President of the Philippines
By the President:
(SGD.) RUBEN D. TORRES
Executive Secretary