[ ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 46, December 29, 2021 ]

AUTHORIZING THE GRANT OF GRATUITY PAY TO CONTRACT OF SERVICE AND JOB ORDER WORKERS IN GOVERNMENT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2021



WHEREAS, various government agencies have engaged and continue to engage workers under contract of service (COS) and job order (JO) schemes;

WHEREAS, the Commission on Audit (COA) and Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Joint Circular (JC) No. 2 (s. 2020) or the œUpdated Rules and Regulations Governing COS and JO Workers in the Government,  prescribes the existing policies and guidelines on the engagement of services of these workers;

WHEREAS, COS and JO workers, together with other government personnel, are required by their respective agencies to report to work regardless of the varying forms of community quarantine and mobility restrictions to ensure the continuous and responsive delivery of government services;

WHEREAS, COA and DBM JC No. 1 (s. 2020) or the œInterim Guidelines Governing COS and JO Workers in Government for the Duration of the State of Calamity and Community Quarantine Due to Corona Virus Disease,  integrates the work schedule of COS and JO workers in the alternative work arrangements adopted by various government agencies during the period of implementation of community quarantine;

WHEREAS, while COS and JO workers in the government are paid salaries/wages equivalent to those received by personnel occupying comparable positions in government and a premium of up to 20% of such salary/wage, they do not enjoy benefits accorded to regular government employees such as the Personnel Economic Relief Allowance, Mid-Year and Year-End Bonuses and Performance-Based Bonus, among others, as they have no employer-employee relationship with the government;

WHEREAS, granting a year-end Gratuity Pay to COS and JO workers is a well-deserved recognition of their hard work in implementing programs, projects and activities, including those which are part of the emergency COVID-19 response efforts of the government;

WHEREAS, Administrative Order No. 38 (s. 2020) authorized the grant of Gratuity Pay to JO and COS workers in government for Fiscal Year (FY) 2020; and

WHEREAS, Section 17, Article VII of the Constitution vests the President with control over all executive departments, bureaus and offices;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, RODRIGO ROA DUTERTE, President of the Republic of the Philippines, by the virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby order:

SECTION 1. Grant of Gratuity Pay. All workers whose services are engaged through COS and JO, who have rendered a total or an aggregate of at least four (4) months of actual satisfactory performance of services, as stipulated in their respective contracts, as of 15 December 2021, whose contracts are still effective as of the same date, may be granted a one-time Gratuity Pay not exceeding Five Thousand Pesos (P5,000.00) each.

Those who have rendered less than four (4) months of actual satisfactory performance of service, as stipulated in their respective contracts, as of 15 December 2021, and whose contracts are still effective as of the same date, may also be granted the one-time Gratuity Pay, on a pro rate basis, as follows:
  
 

Length of Service

Amount of Gratuity Pay

3 months or more but less than 4 months

Not exceeding P4,000

2 months or more but less than 3 months

Not exceeding P3,000

Less than 2 months

Not exceeding P2,000

For purposes of this Order, actual service shall refer to services rendered on-site, i.e., the COS and JO workers physically report to work at their designated stations. Subject to the discretion of the Agency Head and the availability of funds, services rendered by COS and JO workers offsite during the period of community quarantine/alert level, e.g., work from home arrangement, may also be considered as actual service.

SECTION 2. Coverage. This Order shall cover workers whose services are directly engaged through COS and JO by national government agencies (NGAs), state universities and colleges (SUCs), government-owned or-controlled corporations (GOCCs) and local water districts (LWDs).

SECTION 3. Funding Source. Funds needed to implement this Order shall be chargeable against the following sources:

a. For NGAs and SUCs, against their respective available Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) allotment for the same program, activity or project (P/A/P) where the compensation of workers engaged through COS and JO are sourced, subject to approval of the Agency Head.

In case of deficiency, agencies may modify the allotment issued within P/A/P, subject to approval by the Agency Head or the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), as the case may be, pursuant to the rules on the modification in allotments under Section 72 of the General Provisions of Republic Act No. 11518 or the œFY 2021 General Appropriations Act (GAA),  and existing laws and issuances; or submit a request to augment actual deficiencies from savings in other P/A/Ps, subject to approval of the President, in accordance with rules on use of savings and augmentation under Sections 69 and 70 of the General Provisions of the FY 2021 GAA, and existing laws and issuances; and

b. For GOCCs and LWDs, against their respective approved corporate operating budgets.

SECTION 4. Use of Savings. Requests for the use of savings under Section 3(a) hereof shall be submitted by NGAs and SUCs to the DBM not later than five (5) working days from the effectivity of this Order, for endorsement to the Office of the President. All such requests shall be supported by the following documents:

a. Report on the number and names of workers engages through COS and JO qualified for Gratuity Pay, as certified by the head of the human resource management unit and endorsed by the Department Secretary or Agency Head concerned; and

b. Certification from the budget officer that the required amount from the existing MOOE allotment is free from any obligation and may be declared as savings pursuant to Section 69 of the General Provisions of the FY 2021 GAA, to cover the funding requirements for the grant of Gratuity Pay, likewise endorsed by the Department Secretary or Agency Head concerned.

The DBM shall release the corresponding Special Allotment Release Order and Notice of Cash Allowance, as needed, upon approval of the President.

SECTION 5. Grant of Gratuity Pay in Local Government Units (LGUs). LGUs are enjoined to adopt in their respective offices the grant of Gratuity Pay to workers whose services are engaged through COS and JO, utilizing appropriate and available funding sources from their respective local government funds.

The corresponding supplemental budget for the purpose shall be enacted by the local Sanggunian within FY 2021.

SECTION 6. Supplemental Guidelines. As may be necessary, the DBM shall issue supplemental guidelines for the effective implementation of this Order.

SECTION 7. Repeal. All orders, rules and regulations and other issuances or parts thereof, which are inconsistent with this Order are hereby revoked, amended or modified accordingly.

SECTION 8. Separability. If any provision of this Order is declared invalid or unconstitutional, the other provisions not affected thereby shall remain valid and subsisting.

SECTION 9. Effectivity. This Order shall take effect immediately.

Done in the City of Manila, this 29th day of December, in the year of Our Lord, Two Thousand and Twenty-One.



(SGD.) RODRIGO ROA DUTERTE



By the President:


(SGD.) SALVADOR C. MEDIALDEA
Executive Secretary