A party-list lawmaker on Thursday urged the Quezon City government to grant a yearend incentive equivalent to one-month salary to all its employees.
“This would be an additional financial assistance to city personnel, who, like most of our people, have been suffering from economic hardship caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Anakalusugan Rep. Mike Defensor said.
Defensor, who is running for mayor in the May 2022 elections, said the city has the finances to give a yearend bonus.
He said based on its own report, the city government collected P22 billion from local taxes alone in 2020 and should be collecting that much this year, aside from billions in internal revenue allotments representing the city’s share of national taxes.
“Clearly, the city can afford the extra one-month salary, in addition to other incentives and compensation city employees are entitled to under the law,” he added.
Defensor pointed out that Quezon City owes its financial stability largely to its personnel and residents religiously paying their taxes.
“It’s high time the city shows its appreciation to its workforce through an additional one-month salary grant,” he stressed.
He said all city employees, whether permanent, casual or contractual, should receive the incentive.
Earlier, District 2 Councilor Winnie Castelo, Defensor’s vice mayor-candidate, made a similar call.
The Defensor-Castelo Malayang Quezon City team has unveiled a P17-billion economic recovery package that calls for direct financial aid to the poor and small businesses, improved pandemic responses and new infrastructure projects.
The two have also proposed a five-percent tax discount to all businesses in the city.