To cushion the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law’s effects on commodity prices, Quezon City District 1 Councilor Victor Ferrer Jr. has proposed to increase the monthly rice allowance of 8,000 regular employees of the city government and their longevity pay.
Ferrer, a certified public accountant, proposed an ordinance to increase the P1,500 per month rice allowance to P2,000, and another measure to increase the longevity pay from P200 for every five years of service to P300 for the same period.
“We must always love our employees, consider their plight [amid financial difficulties due to inflation] and look after their welfare,” he said.
The additional benefits for the city hall workers would need at least a budget of P25 million to P30 million. The Quezon City government is generating over P19 billion in revenues a year, Ferrer noted.
He authored the grant of a P1,000 monthly rice allowance in 2009 and pushed for it to be increased to P1,500 in 2014.
In 2003, the councilor introduced the release of a P100 longevity pay for every five years of service to the city government and filed an ordinance to amend it to P200 in 2014.
According to Ferrer, the 37-member city council and even Mayor Herbert Bautista approve of the two measures.
“I have just talked to the mayor a while ago. He gave the assurance of his full support,” he told the Standard.
The city council is expected to pass the two ordinances on second reading by June 18, and on third and final reading by June 25, Ferrer said.