Senator Antonio Trillanes IV has sponsored Senate Bill No. 807 or the bill increasing the monthly Personnel Economic Relief Allowance (PERA) granted to all government employees.
In the sponsorship speech delivered by Trillanes, he said, “In 1993, President Fidel Ramos signed Administrative Order No. 53, which granted Five Hundred Peso additional compensation to all government employees in order to cushion the impact of the increasing prices of commodities brought about by the Gulf crisis. However, the financial crisis persisted and this additional compensation became more than just an emergency fund, but an economic relief fund. This was increased to Two Thousand Pesos through Joint Resolution No. 4 in 2009.”
“With the continued increase in the prices of basic commodities and the recent upsurge in inflation, however, it is high time that we augment the PERA to help our government workers cope with current economic difficulties,” Trillanes.
Under SBN 807 seeks to increase the current monthly PERA of all government employees to Three Thousand Pesos (P3,000). This increase shall cover all government employees and other uniformed personnel, whether employed by national or local government agencies and/or instrumentalities, appointive or elective, and whether occupying regular, contractual or casual positions.
“Similar to my other measures which aim to provide additional or improved benefits to our government workers, passing this measure is the least we can do to shield the salaries of our government employees from the ravages of inflation. Although the proposed amount may not be enough to defray all the living costs of our beloved government workers, the increase is significant and will definitely go a long way in helping them with their daily needs,” Trillanes further added.