AMENDING SECTION 6.1 OF BUDGT CIRCULAR (BC) NO. 2016-4 ON PAYMENT OF YEAR-END BONUS AND CASH GIFT

Section 8 of Republic Act (RA) No. 114662 stipulates that the existing Year-End Bonus equivalent to one (1) month basic salary and Cash Gift of Five thousand pesos (P5,000.00), which are categorized under the Standard Allowances and Benefits component of the Total Compensation Framework, shall be given in November of every year.

Section 68 of the General Provisions of the FY 2024 General Appropriations Act states that the Year-End Bonus equivalent to one (1) month basic salary and additional Cash Gift of Five thousand pesos (P5,000) provided under RA No. 66863, as amended by RA No. 84414, shall be given in November of each year pursuant to RA No. 11466.

1.3 Relatedly, BC No. 2016-4 provides the updated rules and regulations for the grant of the Year-End Bonus and Cash Gift.

1.4 Under Item 6.1 thereof, the Year-End Bonus and Cash Gift shall be given to entitled government personnel not earlier than November 15 of the current year, subject to the prescribed conditions.

It has been observed that government personnel continue to experience delays in receiving bonuses and cash gifts, affecting their morale, motivation and level of job satisfaction.

Corollary, the streamlining of the payroll process of each agency will mitigate the internal and external causes of delay in the payment of the benefits. A streamlined process will increase productivity and efficiency, ensuring that the Year-End Bonus and Cash Gift will be granted on schedule.

2.0 Section 6.1 of DBM BC No. 2016-4 is hereby amended, as follows:

"6.0 Guidelines on the Grant of the Year-End Bonus and Cash Gift

6.1 The Year-End Bonus equivalent to one (1) month basic pay as of October 31 and Cash Gift of P5,000 shall be given to entitled government personnel simultaneously with the first agency payroll for the month of November of the current year, subject to the following conditions:

Repealing Clause

All issuances, rules and regulations or parts thereof relating to the grant of the Year-End Bonus and Cash Gift that are inconsistent with this Circular are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

Effectivity

This Circular shall take effect immediately.