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Ric Maulion

EXECUTIVE Order 201, Series of 2016 was signed on Feb. 19, 2016 by the then then president Benigno Simeon Aquino III. Don’t mess up the prerogative of the present President in increasing the salary pay of military and other uniformed personnel lately. Teachers are up next.

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But let us not take his words for it. PNP and military personnel have guns and ammunition while  teachers have merely pens and candies in their drawers for survival.

They should have been the first recipients. European countries are doing it. Why? They are mentors, nurturing all professions, including soldiers. Yes, they don’t deserve the starvation wages they have been receiving. But when? Let us see if the President could provide flesh and bones on this old clamor from public school teachers albeit it’s included in Salary Standardization Law.

I can read between the lines and the writings on the wall given the unpredictable but calculating Duterte, the shrewd political moves that indicate underlying bigger plans to extend his term.

“Barilin nyo ako even if I extend just one day of my term,” he said, revealing his familiar antics as usual. But deep down, he is actually feeding his ego and ingratiating himself.

Tell that to the marines, Mr. President. Hadlok raka magkalas unya men in uniform with their integrity and moral persuasion still intact.

Jan. 1, 2016 was considered a “liberation day” among government  civil servants to include uniformed personnel. Teachers and low-salaried government workers might have sang alleluias to the high heavens what with  the long-overdue salary increase. Many opted to sacrifice their positions in exchange for greener pastures aboard. Some became domestic helpers.

Note however that the Compensation and Position  Classification System was already a follow through of Congress’ Joint Resolution 4, Series of 2009. Ergo, it’s relatively an old concern actually to address the questionable salary cap of national government personnel.

To ensure the smooth and actual implementation of the compensation package, P57.91 billion was allotted per RA 10717 through General Appropriation Act (GAA). Beginning Jan. 1, 2016 therefore until the 4th tranche in Jan. 1, 2019, all beneficiaries from the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the government received the necessary salary adjustments. Included too in the list were local governments, government-owned or -controlled corporations, military and other uniformed personnel, and even the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority.

Unfortunately, please do note the great disparity in the salaries of the rank-and-file employees and supervisors. The one with a Salary Grade 1 position receives P9,478 which is bread crumbs while the other with a Salary Grade 32 position gets P135,376. The former gets a P2,254aise and the latter will have P218,094.

Note the obvious salary disparity lop-sided increase characterizing the comparative positions between rank-and-file employees and their supervisors. In layman’s terms, the crumbs from the table of supervisors given to dogs are even better than the food consumed by rank-and-file employees. Consider that it’s the same with privileges, perks, allowances, bonuses, etc., and you would understand why many people have been trooping the Civil Service. It very different in the past, before the implementation of EO 201 Salary Standardization Law when salaries in private companies were much higher.

That is the normal perception any ordinary taxpayer has until you learn that the higher salary pay actually received by workers in the private sectors pale in comparison to those working in government-owned and -controlled corporations. Not even the roughly P90,000 President’s salary before could rival the windfall received by the Commissioner or CEO of GOCC like GSIS, PNOC, SSS and other semi-government entities.

I had once a cut-out of salary cap from PDI earned by these fortunate souls working in GOCCs. Imagine a monthly salary of almost half a million for a GSIS commissioner. Wow! This on top of handsome P100K allowance and other perks received during board meetings and official travels. Now I know why lowly public servants are squeezed clean and dry of their prohibitive monthly amortizations of housing facilities.

I hope and pray that Congress would  take it easy on the debate on federalism and also do their job of addressing these unjust salary standardization issues.

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