A move that aims to acknowledge their continued hard work, loyalty, and contributions to the country’s development goals.
On Friday, December 12, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced he has granted government employees a one-time Service Recognition Incentive (SRI), with its payment to all qualified government employees not to be made earlier than December 15.
Under Administrative Order No. 40 signed the day before, up to PHP20,000 will be handed to personnel in the Executive branch including civilian employees of national government agencies, state universities and colleges (SUCs), and government-owned or -controlled corporations (GOCCs) whether holding regular, contractual, or casual positions.
Also included in the order are military personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and uniformed personnel of the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Philippine Public Safety College, Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), and the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA).
“The Administration recognizes all government employees for their collective and invaluable contributions to the government’s continuing efforts in pursuing the objectives, commitments, targets, and deliverables under the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028 and the President’s 8-Point Socioeconomic Agenda,” AO No. 40 read.
Furthermore, the national government agencies— including SUCs and military and uniformed personnel—the incentive will come from their available 2025 personnel services (PS) budget under the 2025 General Appropriations Act.
Should the funds be insufficient, they may opt to utilize their maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE), following budget rules.
For GOCCs, however, the SRI will be taken from their approved 2025 corporate operating budgets.
As for workers in the local government units (LGUs), including barangays, the grant and amount of SRI not exceeding PHP20,000 will be decided by their respective sanggunians based on their financial capacity and within the personnel services limits under the Local Government Code.
Employees in Local Water Districts (LWDs) may also receive SRI at a uniform rate up to PHP20,000, which will be determined by the Board of Directors—chargeable against their respective corporate operating budgets for 2025.
“If an agency does not have sufficient funds, its qualified employees will still receive the SRI at a lower but uniform rate,” the order added.
Meanwhile, employees of the Senate, House of Representatives, Judiciary, Office of the Ombudsman, and other constitutional offices with fiscal autonomy may also receive a one-time SRI of up to PHP20,000, depending on their available PS budgets, according to the AO.
Employees qualified to receive the SRI include civilian personnel occupying regular, contractual or casual positions; personnel who are still in government service as of November 30, 2025; and personnel who have rendered at least four months of service as of that date. For qualified employees who have rendered less than four months of service as of the end of November, they shall receive pro-rated SRI.
The employees should not have received any additional year-end benefit in Fiscal Year 2025 over and above the benefits authorized under Republic Act 6686, as amended by RA No. 8441, in order to qualify for the SRI.
GRATUITY PAY
Meanwhile, for Contract of Service (COS) and Job Order (JO) workers in government this year, a PHP7,000 gratuity pay was also approved under Administrative Order No. 39.
COS and JO employees who have rendered a total or an aggregate of at least four months of actual satisfactory service performance as of December 15, 2025 and whose contracts remain in effect on the same date are entitled to the gratuity pay, with its payment to be made not earlier than December 15.
“Granting a year-end Gratuity Pay to COS and JO workers is a well-deserved recognition of their hard work and valuable participation in the implementation of various programs, activities, and projects (PAPs) of the government, and their pivotal role in the delivery of government services amidst the present socio-economic challenges,” the AO stated.
Employees who have rendered less than four months of satisfactory service may still receive the gratuity pay on a pro-rata basis, it added.
Workers with three months, but less than four months of service, will receive gratuity pay not exceeding PHP6,000.
For employees with two months, but less than three months service, will get gratuity pay not exceeding PHP5,000; while those with less than two months service will receive a pay not exceeding PHP4,000.
The order covers workers in national government agencies, state universities and colleges (SUCs), government-owned or -controlled corporations (GOCCs) and local water districts (LWDs).
The same order noted that while COS and JO workers are paid salaries equivalent to those received by personnel occupying comparable positions in government, they do not enjoy the benefits accorded to regular government employees.
These benefits include mid-year and year-end bonuses, performance-based bonus and personnel economic relief allowance.