SSL 2015: Here's the List of Those who Voted to Approve

Senators of the Philippines in the 16th Congress

The Senate unanimously passed on the third and final reading on Monday the proposed Salary Standardization Law (SSL) that seeks to introduce a higher compensation system for all government employees, including nurses, teachers and soldiers starting next year.

Fourteen senators voted to approve Senate Bill No. 2671 with no negative vote or abstention.

Those who voted were Senate President Franklin Drilon, Senators Sonny Angara, Bam Aquino, Nancy Binay, Pia Cayetano, JV Ejercito and Francis Escudero.

Senators Teofisto Guingona, Loren Legarda, Sergio Osmena, Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, Ralph Recto, Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, and Cynthia Villar also approved of the bill.

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, who sponsored the bill, said the SSL IV would be implemented in four tranches, starting from January1, 2016 to January 1, 2019.

He said the bill will introduce a new compensation and position classification system (CPCS) which would bring the pay of government personnel closer to prevailing rates in the private sector, or to at least 70 percent of the market rate for all salary grades.

“This means government personnel like nurses who are currently receiving P24,887 per month (under Salary Grade 15) will have their salaries raised to P26,192 next year. In the final year of the SSL, their monthly salaries will have been raised to P30,531,” Trillanes said in a statement.

The minimum basic salary which could be received by civilian government personnel (Salary Grade 1 or “Administrative Aide”) would be raised from the current rate of P9,000 to P11, 068.

Trillanes said a similar hike would be applied to the pay of military and uniformed personnel, as army privates, apprentice seamen and police officers of the lowest rank would have their monthly salaries raised from P14,834 to P16, 597.

Aside from the increases in the monthly salary of government personnel, the proposed measure also introduces an improved set of allowances and benefits, such as 14th month pay, a mid-year bonus, and an enhanced performance-based bonus which can be equal or double the monthly salary.

“The bill will maximize the employees’ net take-home pay and recognize the government personnel who play a greater role and carry a heavier responsibility in improving government performance,” Trillanes said.

Trillanes also said the higher wages to be introduced under the bill would serve as an “anti-corruption measure.”

“Due to the competitive compensation package, our public servants can be effectively discouraged from resorting to scrupulous activities in order to augment their meager income and instead, focus their efforts and energy on serving the public, curbing corruption, and cutting red tape,” he said.

Drilon said the SSL IV was also intended to attract more professionals into the public workforce by making compensation for all civilian government personnel “competitive with those doing comparable work in the private sector,” noting that a study commissioned by the Department of Budget and Management pegged the government’s pay scheme at 45 percent below market.

He said reforming the low pay rates in the public sector “would help address the 191, 988 still unfilled positions in government, which inadvertently affects the smooth delivery of services to the people.”

Trillanes said the pay increase for military and uniformed personnel also sought to promote “pay equity for an effective, efficient, committed, competent and motivated corps of officers and enlisted personnel.”

Drilon earlier said Congress would try to submit the bill to Malacanang for President Benigno Aquino III’s signature before the year ends so that employees, except for incumbent elected national officials, would be able to enjoy the new salary package starting January 1, 2016.

The Senate had earlier approved the 2016 General Appropriations Act, which already included a P50.7 billion allocation for the implementation of the first tranche of wage hikes planned under the SSL IV next year

(c) inquirer

House approves Salary Standardization Law 2015

House of Representatives. INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO

(UPDATE) The House of Representatives on Wednesday approved on third and final reading the proposed Salary Standardization Law (SSL) 2015.

 
With a vote of 170-5 and one abstention, the lower chamber finally approved the House Bill 6268 just a month after it was approved on second reading on Nov. 11.

 
The SSL 2015 standardizes the salary increases of government workers in four tranches from 2016 to 2019.

Among those who voted against the bill are Act Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio, Anakpawis Rep. Fernando Hicap, Gabriela Rep. Luz Ilagan and Abakada Rep. Jonathan Dela Cruz.

Meanwhile, Muntinlupa Rep. Rodolfo Biazon abstained from voting. He cited a conflict of interest because the SSL 2015 suspends the indexation of the pension benefits of retired military personnel like him. Biazon is a former Armed Forces of the Philippines chief.

 
Tinio said he voted against the bill because it only implemented paltry sums to ordinary workers.

He said the SSL 2015 relied on the grant of bonuses instead of increasing the salaries. “Hindi sasapat ang dagdag na ibibigay ng SSL 2016 para sa malaking mayorya ng gobyerno… Ang kahalagahan at kaibahan ng sweldo ay bukod sa makakatugon sa pang-araw-araw na pangangailangan, investment din ang sweldo sa kanilang future, lalo na sa kanilang retirement pension, na nakabatay sa kanilang sweldo, hindi bonus,” Tinio said.

The chamber fielded the bill on third reading approval after a quorum was declared with 176 solons responding to the call Wednesday night.

Buhay Rep. Lito Atienza questioned the quorum, saying he only counted 140 warm bodies on the floor. The chamber needed at least 145 of the 187-strong chamber to reach a quorum.

Majority leader Neptali Gonzales II said the chair has always ruled that the solons who are present within the vicinity or even on official business may be counted in the roll call.
The authors of the SSL 2015 are Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II, Minority leader Ronaldo Zamora, appropriations committee chair Davao City Rep Isidro Ungab, and accounts chair Romblon Rep. Eleandro Jesus Madrona.

The bill was earlier passed on second reading without being certified by President Aquino as urgent. A certification would have fast tracked the passage of the bill from second to third reading on the same day.

 
The SSL 2015 is pending in the committee level at the Senate.

 
Militant solons criticized the SSL 2015 for giving paltry sums to ordinary workers while granting hefty increases to higher-ranking officials like the President.

Tinio had lamented the small P2,205 increase for the country’s 600,000 public-school teachers in the four tranches of SSL 2015 implementation.
He said the current salary of an entry-level teacher is at P18,549. Under the SSL, the pay for Teacher 1 would increase to P19,077 in the first year of implementation in 2016, P19,620 in 2017, P20,179 in 2018, and P20,754 in 2019.

The most basic Salary Grade 1 would also be increased from P9,000 to P11,068 a month.

Meanwhile, the President’s salary is increased from the current P120,000 to as much as P388,096. The Vice President, Speaker of the House, Senate President, and Chief Justice’s salary would be increased to as much as P353,470 after four years.

The bill would only increase the salaries of the President and Vice President upon the expiration of their terms. This means President Benigno Aquino III and Vice President Jejomar Binay would not benefit from the salary hike.
Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad had said the current Cabinet secretaries were not included in the hike as delicadeza.

He said the salary hike for members of the House of Representatives and Senate and of the Cabinet would only take place on July 1, 2016 or after the expiration of the incumbents’ terms.

The House approved the bill on second reading just days after President Aquino endorsed the SSL 2015 to Congress.
The president backed the bill after the budget department conducted a thorough study on the merits of adjusting the salary grades of public sector employees closer to the pay of their private sector counterparts.

In a statement, Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad said the proposed bill seeks a four-year P226-billion compensation hike for the government’s 1.53 million civilian and military and uniformed personnel.
The compensation package is composed of a salary increase, a mid-year 14th month pay, and an enhanced performance-based bonus (PBB) system, Abad said.
He added that the salary hike would increase the basic Salary Grade 1 from P9,000 to P11,068 a month.
The bill seeks to increase the basic salary of covered employees by an average of 27 percent. The 14th month pay will increase compensation by eight percent.
Meanwhile, the enhanced PBB is equivalent to one to two months’ salary or an average of 10 percent increase in salary.

The bill also seeks to bridge the gap between the pay of employees in the public sector with their counterparts in the private sector.

Abad said under the bill, the lowest salary grade, Salary Grade 1, will be raised to about 154 percent of the market, while the highest salary grade belonging to the President will be about 70 percent of the market.

Government compensation in the average is estimated to increase by 45 percent and should be around 84 percent of private sector pay at the end of the four tranches, Abad said. The average government pay now is 55 percent of the market rate.

Abad said under the bill, the new compensation level for all salary grades will be at least 70 percent of the market; there will be no salary overlaps; and the link between pay and performance will be strengthened.

Due to the enactment of Republic Act 10653, which raised the tax exemption cap to P82,000, the 14th month pay and PBB will be tax-exempt for employees belonging to Salary Grades 1 to 11 who only receive the tax-exempt 13th month pay, the cash gift and the productivity enhancement incentive (PEI).

Meanwhile, only the 14th month pay will be tax-exempt for employees under Salary Grade 12 to 16 who receive the existing tax-exempt 13th month pay, cash gift and PEI.
The first tranche of the pay hike will take effect on Jan. 1, 2016 and thereafter until the final tranche in 2019. TVJ