NAGPALABAS ng circular ang Department of Budget and Management upang ibigay na ang dagdag na sahod para sa mga empleyado ng lokal na pamahalaan at Government Owned and Controlled Corporations.
Ikinatuwa naman ito ni House Majority Leader Rolando Andaya Jr., na matagal ng nagsasabi na maaaring ibigay ng DBM ang 4th tranche ng Salary Standardization Law 4 kahit na hindi pa naaprubahan ang 2019 national budget.
“The DBM Circulars— Local Budget Circular No. 118 and Corporate Budget Circular No. 23— were both signed by Sec. Diokno on 15 January 2019, which both took effect on 1 January 2019,” ani Andaya.
Sinabi ni Andaya na maaari ring magpalabas ang DBM ng circular upang maibigay ang taas sahod sa iba pang ahensya ng gobyerno sa ilalim ng reenacted budget.
“Sec. Diokno can use these tools to release the salary increase for other civil servants in the executive, legislative and judicial branches as well as in constitutional offices. Sec. Diokno is just taking these employees hostage in a desperate bid to force Congress to approve his pet projects the soonest time possible.”
Matagal ng sinasabi ni Andaya na posibleng ibigay ang taas sahod pero sinabi ni Budget Sec. Benjamin Diokno na hindi ito maaaring gawin sa ilalim ng reenacted budget.
“We have been telling Sec. Diokno all along. There is no basis for the delay in the release and disbursement of funds as there are available alternative sources of funds for the fourth tranche of personnel benefits,” ani Andaya.
Kailangan lamang umano ng P42.7 bilyon para maibigay ang taas sahod. Ang Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund ay mayroon umanong P99.446 bilyon pondo kasama ang savings ilalim ng reenacted budget. Hindi naman umano kailangan na kaagad ang buong budget dahil buwan-buwan naman ang pasahod.