Government workers in the Philippines can expect salary increases over the next two years. These increases will be reflected in their paychecks starting January 2025. The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has allocated ₱70 billion in the proposed ₱6.352 trillion national budget for 2025 to cover these raises.
Budget Allocation for Salary Increases
Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman announced that the ₱70 billion allocated will be split into two tranches. The first tranche will be ₱35 billion, and the second tranche will also be ₱35 billion. These increases will be funded through the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund (MPBF) in the Fiscal Year 2025 budget. The salary adjustments for each agency are still based on 2023 rates, according to Pangandaman.
Retroactive Salary Adjustments
The first tranche of the salary increase will be retroactive, covering the period from January to December 2024. This means that government workers will receive back pay for 2024, along with their regular pay starting in January 2025. The second tranche for 2025 will coincide with this retroactive adjustment.
When asked if government workers will see both the 2024 and 2025 adjusted rates in their paychecks starting January 2025, Secretary Pangandaman confirmed this, stating that the second tranche is included.
Four-Year Salary Adjustment Plan
The Marcos administration is planning a four-round salary adjustment initiative for government workers. This plan will be implemented from 2024 until 2027. The DBM is currently crafting an executive order to formalize this four-tranche wage increase program. In his third State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. promised to increase the salaries of state workers.
Beneficiaries of the Salary Increase
The salary increase is set to benefit a wide range of government employees. This includes approximately 165,007 sub-professional workers, 1,170,647 professional workers such as teachers and lawyers, and 22,640 personnel in executive positions. Data from the DBM indicates that there are about 1.943 million permanent positions in the entire government workforce, including both civilian and military/uniformed personnel.
These salary increases are part of the government’s efforts to improve the welfare of its employees and ensure that their compensation is competitive with the private sector.
