Government employees in the Executive Department will receive an amount not exceeding P10,000 as Service Recognition Incentive (SRI), which shall be given not earlier than December 21, 2020.
“Pinirmahan po ni President Duterte noong a-disi-otso ng Disyembre ang Administrative Order no 37 na nagbibigay ng service recognition incentive sa mga empleyado ng gobyerno sa taong 2020,” said Presidential Spokesperson Secretary Harry Roque Jr. during a press briefing held in Davao on December 21.
According to A.O. 37, “government employees deserve to be rewarded for their collective and unceasing participation in and invaluable contribution to the Administration’s continuing efforts toward the establishment of streamlined government processes and more responsive delivery of public services, especially in the midst of the public health emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The SRI will be given to all civilian personnel in national government agencies, including state universities and colleges, and government-owned or -controlled corporations. All military and uniformed personnel will also receive the SRI.
To be able to receive the SRI, the civilian personnel should be occupying a regular, contractual, or casual position, and should be in government service as of November 30, 2020.
The employee must have also rendered a total or an aggregate of four months of service as of November 30. Those who have rendered less than four months of service shall be entitled to a pro-rated share of the SRI.
Meanwhile, employees in the legislative and judicial departments, as well as in other offices vested with fiscal autonomy, may also be granted a one-time SRI by their respective heads of offices, chargeable against the available released allotment of their respective agencies.
For employees in local government units, the grant of the one-time SRI shall be determined by their respective sanggunians depending on the LGU’s financial capability. Similarly, the grant of SRI to employees in Local Water Districts may be determined by their Boards of Directors. The same is true for employees in agencies exempted from the coverage of RA No. 6758, as amended, where the grant of SRI to employees will be determined by their governing boards or agency heads.
On another matter, Asian Development Bank (ADB) Country Director to the Philippines Kelly Bird, presented in the said press briefing, the ADB’s COVID-19 Vaccine Financing Support to the Philippines. Mr. Bird said that the ADB’s $9-Billion Asia Pacific Vaccine Access Facility (APVAX) vaccine initiative offers rapid and equitable support to its developing members in the procurement and delivery of safe and effective vaccines.
Mr. Bird said that the APVAX will provide additional resources for each member country above their normal lending program. The ceiling loan amount is based on population size and will allow for advance financing of up to 50 percent. It will also allow for retroactive financing of up to 30 percent of the Rapid Response Component financing amount.
According to Mr. Bird, there is a government request for approximately $325-million from the Rapid Response Component of APVAX. He said that the ADB team is working closely with the Philippine government to carry out the technical background work.
Under the ADB APVAX, COVID-19 vaccines that will be financed and procured will be those that meet the ADB eligibility criteria, and will follow as well the ADB procurement process. The ADB will also provide technical assistance to provide capacity support, monitoring, etc. ### OPS-PCOO
