Rejected Laoag City 2019 budget impacts planned salary hike for SPES

By Dominic B. dela Cruz

Staff reporter

Laoag City—The planned salary increase for the 300 Special Program for Employment of Students (SPES)slots in Laoag was also impacted by the rejected 2019 annual budget.

The 2019 annual budget was disapproved by the Sangguniang Panlungsod in January this year and has not been tackled since until the 90-day period lapsed.

City Budget Office (CBO) record shows that the allocated budget for SPES last year was PHP3,380,190; and fir this year, PHP3,559,580, or an increase of PHP179,390 was allocated.

The increase in allocation would have translated to higher SPES salaries but with the disapproval of the annual budget, the increase was also shelved.

The salaries for SPES was based on the existing entry level position of the city government similar to contract of service (COS), which has a rate of PHP387.73 per day.

Community Affairs Department (CAD) officer II Vilma Ranchez said that 300 students can work and avail again of the SPES in the city. The planned increase however will not be implemented.

“Kayat na nga sao’en, no kuma naaprubaran tay budget, ngumato kuma met tay sweldo da,” Ms. Ranchez said. 

As of press time, Ms. Ranchez said her office is busy validating the documents and requirements submitted by the applicants such as birth certificate, low income/indigent certification from the punong barangay or income tax return of both parents from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and certification of grades or a copy of cards from the school.

Of the 300 SPES slots, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) only certified 150 applicants to be their beneficiaries. This means DOLE will shoulder the 40% of their salaries. The city government, meanwhile, will pay for the remaining 60%.

But since the city government opened 300 SPES slots, they will also shoulder the whole salary of the uncertified 150 SPES beneficiaries.

Ms. Ranchez also noted that priority applicants will be the old SPES beneficiaries. Those who have since graduated, however, will be replaced by new applicants with age requirement pegged at 15-30 years old.

The city government also accommodates out-of-school youths (OSYs) with the promise that the they will enroll in the following school year.

Each SPES beneficiary shall serve or work 20 days starting May 2, 2019 at the city government in line with their field of specialization or courses in the different department offices.

The SPES aims to augment the family’s income to the poor but deserving students this summer vacation.        

Reacting to this, Laoag Mayor Chevylle V. Fariñas hopes that their salaries would be of great help to their family’s their needs, especially for the students in preparation for the next school year.

“Ta no kuma naaprubaran tay budget ket dakdakkel kuma met iti sweldo nga awaten dagitoy annak tayo ken ad-adu kuma met iti maitulog na kanyada ken iti pamilya da,” the mayor said.