udbet Palace OKs gratuity pay for COS, JO workers in government

MANILA, Philippines —Malacañang announced on Friday, December 20, that the gratuity pay for contract of service (COS) and job order (JO) employees will be increased from P5,000 to P7,000.

In Administrative Order 28, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said that COS and JO workers who have rendered at least four months of satisfactory service as of December 15 will have a “one-time gratuity pay not exceeding P7,000 each for FY 2024.” 

The order also covers workers who have worked less than four months, but at an adjusted rate based on how long they have worked. 

Under the new order, workers who have served for at least three months but less than four will receive a gratuity pay of P6,000. Employees who have been with the government for at least two months but less than three will get P5,000, while those who have worked for less than two months will receive P4,000.

The AO covers JO and COS workers in national government agencies, state universities and colleges, government-owned or -controlled corporations and local water districts. 

Funding for the gratuity pay will be charged against the respective agency’s available Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses. 

For local government units (LGU), they are encouraged to adopt the same. 

“LGUs are encouraged 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 AO read. 

He was also found guilty of malversation under Article 217 of the Revised Penal Code, for which he received a sentence of reclusion perpetua—20 to 40 years imprisonment—and a fine of P393 million, the amount embezzled.

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said that this is the first increase in gratuity pay since 2021. 

"The last increase in the Gratuity Pay rate happened way back in 2021, when it was increased from P3,000 to P5,000,” DBM Secretary Amenah Pangandmaan said in a statement. 

Pangandmaan  said that the government would not allow the JO and COS workers to go empty-handed for the holiday season. 

Meanwhileudbet, government employees were granted a one-time service recognition incentive amounting to P20,000.