The Negros Occidental provincial government can only legally allocate P1,711 in Service Recognition Incentive (SRI) to each of its more than 3,000 employees, and not P10,000 as ordered by President Rodrigo Duterte.
That is because it can only spend P5,233,154 more for Personal Services this year to avoid exceeding the PS cap set under the Local Government Code, he said.
If the provincial government allocates P10,000 each in incentives it will exceed its PS cap by P27 million, which will be in violation of the law, he said.
The provincial government has the funds to give its employees P10,000 each in additional incentives, but needs permission to exceed the PS cap, he said.
Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson is still waiting for the DBM reply on whether the granting of the P10,000 SRI can be exempt from the PS cap, he added.
The governor had a meeting with the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines on Friday and the granting of the SRI was one of the things they want tackled, Diaz said.
“We have no update as of now if we can grant the full amount,” he added.
Diaz said he will wait for the decision of the governor and Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer on the amount to be allocated for the SRI.
Ferrer said if the provincial government exceeds the PS cap by granting P10,000 and it is disallowed, the Capitol employees could be made to pay back the amount.
If the provincial government can only grant P1,711 to each employee let us just wait until we can give a bigger amount, he said.
The provincial government has so far given P40,000 in incentives and bonuses to its employees this December on top of their 13th month pay.*