P5.6 million gratuity pay questioned

CEBU, Philippines — The Commission on Audit (COA) has questioned the City of Naga’s grant of P5.613 million in gratuity pay to 814 Job Order (JO) and Contract of Service (COS) personnel in 2025, citing insufficient documentation to establish their actual satisfactory performance of service as required by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

In its 2025 audit report, COA said the eligibility of the workers could not be fully validated because the city failed to submit sufficient supporting documents.

The gratuity pay was released through Check No. 93600998 dated Dec. 22, 2025, and charged against the General Fund appropriation for Other Maintenance and Operating Expenses.

The recipients included 574 JOs who received a total of P3.96 million; 99 school watchmen, P693,000; 65 teacher aides, P440,000; 52 child development teachers, P353,000; 23 COS workers, P160,000; and one Zumba instructor, P7,000.

COA noted that the disbursement was supported only by approved payrolls signed by the recipients. No duly approved performance ratings or accomplishment evaluations were submitted to establish that the workers rendered satisfactory service.

Instead, the Human Resource Development (HRD) Office issued a general certification stating that the listed personnel had rendered at least four months of actual satisfactory service and that their contracts remained effective as of Dec. 15, 2025.

COA also found that the HRD Office directly supervised only JOs and COS personnel assigned to City Hall, raising questions about the blanket certification covering workers deployed in schools and barangays who were supervised by other offices or authorities.

The audit further found that workers were automatically included in the gratuity payroll based on their having active contracts as of Dec. 15, 2025 without sufficient verification of satisfactory performance.

COA also cited inconsistencies in the workers’ arrangements. Some personnel, including the Zumba instructor and legal services personnel, had no clearly defined work schedules, while some school watchmen worked only limited hours.

The contracts reviewed also did not specify working hours or official stations, making it difficult to verify compliance with the requirement for actual service.

Under DBM Budget Circular No. 2025-4, qualified JO and COS workers may receive a one-time gratuity pay of up to P7,000, subject to conditions including at least four months of actual satisfactory service and an effective contract as of Dec. 15, 2025. Workers with less than four months of satisfactory service may receive the benefit on a pro-rata basis.

COA said the lack of sufficient supporting documents and apparent noncompliance with the eligibility requirements exposed government funds to the risk of irregular or excessive disbursements.

The audit team recommended that the city submit approved performance ratings or equivalent evaluation reports for validation, reassess the eligibility of workers without defined work schedules or who were not required to physically report to designated workstations, and ensure complete documentation for future gratuity pay grants.

The city government submitted a summary of the JO personnel’s 2025 performance ratings on April 16, 2026.

However, COA said the ratings were classified only as poor, fair, good and excellent, making it unclear which ratings qualified as “satisfactory service.”

For school watchmen, the city submitted only endorsements from the respective barangay captains for contract renewal, COA further said. — /FPL (FREEMAN)