Sen. Francis Escudero is advocating for legislation that would increase the government workers’ economic hardship payment by two times.
Senate Bill 60 was introduced by Sen. Francis Escudero, which would automatically boost the personnel economic relief allowance (PERA) from P2,000 to P4,000 per year. It is also the equal amount based on any annual inflation rate increase.
Originally introduced in the early 1990s, Escudero said PERA was a subsidy granted to all government workers as a form of assistance. It is to help them make both ends meet in the face of an economic crisis.
According to Escudero’s proposal, PERA would apply to all local and federal civilian government employees. Regardless of whether they are “appointive or elective, regular or contractual, or casual, and whose positions are covered by Republic Act No. 6758 or the Compensation and Position Classification Act of 1989,” they are covered.
Hence, he argued that the policy should apply to all uniformed and military personnel. These are personnel with the exception of those who are deployed overseas and already get foreign allowances.
SB 60 states that the P62 billion in savings must be applied to the implementation costs of the enhanced allowance in its first year.
“Thereafter, the amount necessary should be provided in the annual General Appropriations Act,” the measure stated.
Escudero has advocated for a higher PERA but has also backed a plan by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to simplify and reorganize the bureaucracy in order to save annual government spending by about P14.8 billion.
Despite his admission that “it would be a challenging process,” he claimed the DBM plan is on the “correct track.”
