MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte signed Administrative Order (AO) No. 46 on Wednesday, December 29, giving contract of service (COS) and job order (JO) workers in the government up to P5,000 in gratuity pay.

Those who have rendered a total or an aggregate of at least four months of service as of December 15 are entitled to receive the gratuity pay of up to P5,000. Meanwhile, those who have worked for less than four months may still be granted the one-time gratuity pay, but on a pro-rata basis.

AO 46 states that workers with three months of service or more but less than four months may receive gratuity pay of up to P4,000; workers with two months of service or more but less than three months may receive up to P3,000; and workers with less than two months of service may receive up to P2,000.

The AO covers workers 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).

The funding for COS and JO workers in NGAs and SUCs will come from their respective available maintenance and other operating expenses for the same program, activity, or project, subject to the approval of the agency head. For LWDs, it will be charged against their respective approved corporate operating budgets.

AO 46 also urges local government units to adopt in their respective offices the grant of gratuity pay to COS and JO workers.

COS and JO workers are not made to perform functions that are part of the job description of the agency’s existing regular employees but they also do not have the benefits of regular government employees, such as leaves, Personnel Economic Relief Allowance, and 13th-month pay.

The President earlier signed AO 45 on Friday, December 24, authorizing the grant of service recognition incentive of up to P10,000 for employees in the executive department. These include civilian personnel in national government agencies, and military and uniformed personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, Bureau of Corrections, Philippine Coast Guard, and National Mapping and Resource Information Authority. – Rappler.com