Manila: Good news for government workers: Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman has announced higher wages starting this August.
The national and local budget circular outlining the adjustments is being finalised and will be published soon. This will guide agencies in calculating the new salaries.
"We have signed the National Budget Circular and Local Budget Circular, it will now be published and it can now be implemented. These circulars contain the guidelines for the computation of adjustment for the salary,” Pangandaman said.
"They can adjust immediately," Pangandaman said in Filipino language during a press conference on August 12, 2024 (Monday).
However, the exact implementation date may vary depending on how quickly agencies process the changes.
Who benefits?
President Marcos Jr.'s Executive Order 64 authorises pay raises for civilian government personnel across various branches: executive, legislative, and judicial.
It also applies to constitutional bodies, government-owned or controlled corporations, and local government units (within their financial means).
Four stages
The wage increase will be implemented in four stages, according to her:
- First tranche: retroactive to January 1, 2024 (paid in August)
- First tranche: retroactive to January 1, 2024 (paid in August)
- Second tranche: January 1, 2025
- Third tranche: January 1, 2026
- Final tranche: January 1, 2027
Funding for the 2025 increase is already allocated in the National Expenditure Programme.
Better pay
This initiative aims to make government salaries more competitive with the private sector and address the knock-on effects of rising cost of living for public employees.
Additional benefits
The EO also mandates a yearly medical allowance of Php7,000 starting in 2025.
Impact on teachers:
Public teachers, who have long advocated for better pay, will see a significant increase.
- This year's tranche will elevate entry-level teachers (Teacher I) to Salary Grade 11 with a monthly wage of Php28,521 ($499).
- Teacher II positions will receive Php30,705 (SG 12), and Teacher III will earn Php32,870 (SG 13).
The Department of Education (DepEd) will decide whether to pursue additional raises beyond this Executive Order.
Earlier, the ACT Teachers Party-List group supports the teachers' call for 50,000 pesos ($850) entry-level salary for teachers.
Uniformed personnel are not part of this year’s pay raise. Salaries of military and uniformed personnel were raised from 2018, with a Police Officer I and those with equivalent rank will enjoy a 100 per cent pay increase. Overall, the salary adjustments resulted to a 58.7 per cent average increase for all military and uniformed personnel ranks.
Following the increase in cops’ pay, the estimated total pay for a Police Officer I is Php33,333 ($583.7) per month, with an average salary of Php30,000 per month ($525.4).
