NR0121: Solon slams GMA's promised P13-billion package for gov't workers

From the Office of Anakpawis Representative Crispin B. Beltran
South Wing Room 601, House of Representatives,
Constitution Hills 1126, Quezon City, Philippines
Reference: Rep. Crispin Beltran (+63)927.871.1080
Lisa C. Ito, Public Information Officer (+63)927.796.7006

News Release: January 21, 2006. Monday


Solon slams GMA's promised P13-billion package for gov't workers:
"Too little and too late"
"Arroyo borders on bribery by asking for public acceptance of Cha-Cha and
her legitimacy in return"

Anakpawis Representative Crispin Beltran today expressed reservations on the
Arroyo-sponsored measure calling for the release of a P13B compensation
package for one million government employees by February 11, saying that
"the false amelioration package was bordering on bribing the public".

"The P13B package is too little and too late. By whichever means of
computation, this amount falls way below any respectable threshold. If you
divide P13B among one million government employees, as the sound bytes of
PGMA's spokespersons say, you would get the amount of P13 thousand for each
employee. Divide that by 12 months, and you will have a measly and
inadequate increase of a thousand pesos or so per month: this is way below
the P3,000 across-the-board monthly pay hike our government employees and
unions have been struggling for six years since 1999," he said.

"Also, government workers number more than 1 million today, so expect that
computation to grow even smaller in actual distribution. And since this is
merely a temporary compensation package and not a legislated wage hike,
don't expect the same amount to flow in next year by 2007," he added.

"The compensation package is not a gift, contrary to what Madam Arroyo likes
to flaunt. Budget Secretary Romulo Neri himself said that the funds for the
compensation package will come from the E-VAT collections, when the 10-12
percent increase takes full effect by next month. Everyone knows how
obscenely high prices, rates, and services have reached because of the
anti-poor and Arroyo-supported E-VAT, which millions of Filipinos have
opposed from the very start. The package will therefore not translate to a
substantial increase in personal income, but will instead go to paying for
the EVAT-related increases in prices of basic goods and services which will
start this February. In effect, this Administration is merely replicating
the classic case of stealing money from the poor in order to charitably
'donate' the amount back to them afterwards," he said.

"It's pathetically obvious that someone from the Palace is trying to dangle
a carrot before discontented and increasingly restive government employees
and military personnel, with the hopes of averting another possible EDSA by
February. Madam Arroyo thinks our indignant hearts will soften towards
her and Charter Change as Valentine's Day nears because of this," he said.

"Our government workers deserve more, far much more than this insulting and
deceptive compensation package. They are worth more than the P13B the
President dangles in exchange for our acceptance of her illegal, immoral and
inutile grip over the Palace and her odious plans for Charter Change. She is
bordering on bribery by asking for public acceptance of Cha-Cha and her
legitimacy in return for this package," he added.

Beltran said that these arguments were the context of his reservation and
skepticism towards the Arroyo-sponsored package. "Instead of publicizing
her hypocritical pleas for the Lower House to approve 'her urgent
administrative measure', I suggest that Madam Arroyo manifest her commitment
to have the pending House Bills 00345 (AN ACT PROVIDING FOR A P125.00 DAILY
ACROSS-THE-BOARD INCREASE IN THE SALARY RATES OF EMPLOYEES AND WORKERS IN
THE PRIVATE SECTOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES ) and 1064 (AN ACT PROVIDING FOR
THREE THOUSAND PESOS (P3,000.00) ACROSS-THE-BOARD MONTHLY SALARY INCREASE IN
THE WAGE AND SALARY RATES OF EMPLOYEES AND WORKERS IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR AND
FOR OTHER PURPOSES) approved during the first quarter of 2006. HB 345 is
presetly in the interpellation stage before its second reading, while HB
1064 has been pending with the Committee on Appropriations since 2004."

"The P125 across-the-board wage increase for private sector workers and the
P3,000 monthly salary increase for government workers are the real and
substantial pay hikes that our private and public workers and employees have
been clamoring for for the past six years. The passage of these two urgent
bills will do far more to alleviate the sufferings of our poor workers than
this piecemeal and deceptive P13B compensation package" Rep. Beltran ended.
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