No new budget, no salary hike – Diokno
Credit to Author: MAYVELIN U. CARABALLO, TMT| Date: Wed, 09 Jan 2019 16:24:20 +0000
Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno on Wednesday maintained that implementing the salary hike for government workers is not possible under a reenacted budget, unfazed by the threat of House Majority Leader Rolando
Andaya that he would file a complaint if state workers would not get the promised wage increase.
The Budget chief said a wage adjustment would only be implemented once Congress approves the 2019 budget.
“The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) cannot implement the scheduled hike in government workers’ salary without legal basis, which is still pending in Congress,” Diokno said in a press briefing on Wednesday.
He explained that the implementation of the scheduled hike under the fourth tranche of the Salary Standardization Law was hinged on the passage of the 2019 budget.
“The law is very clear, we need the General Appropriations Act to be approved. The first best solution, really, is to get the budget passed,” he said.
Andaya on Tuesday threatened to sue Diokno if the DBM fails to implement a salary increase for government workers next week.
Diokno was unmoved.
“Then sue me. Go to the Supreme Court and sue me. But that is the law. There is no legal basis for adjusting the pay. You cannot coerce me to do something that is unconstitutional,” he said.
Diokno cited Executive Order 201 series of 2016, which states that the implementation of the salary schedule is “subject to appropriations by Congress.”
Pending the passage of the 2019 General Appropriations bill, the Budget chief said government employees would continue to receive the same salaries based on the third tranche of the compensation adjustment.
He gave assurances that the fourth tranche of compensation adjustments would be applied retroactively from Jan. 1, 2019, once the 2019 budget is signed into law.
“In effect, government employees would receive salary differentials within the year,” Diokno said.
At the same time, he announced that the Budget department was looking at introducing more salary adjustments in the next three years.
“There will be a possibility of adjustment across all government and military workers. But, how much is not yet determined,” Diokno said.
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