Capitol employees asked to return ‘illegal bonus’

By: Dolly Yasa

BACOLOD City – Employees of the Negros Occidental provincial government who received extra yearend bonuses in 2015 and 2016 are reportedly being told to process to return the same after the Commission on Audit (COA) ruled the extra perk as illegal.

This, even as the Negros Occidental provincial legal office filed an appeal memorandum with COA regional office on the disallowance of the extra year-end bonuses.

Provincial Budget Officer Jose Percival Salado said the COA provincial office disallowed the P30,000 bonus granted to each employee in 2015 and P35,000 in 2016.

Salado said he believes the disallowance will be overturned as the provincial government has completed the submission of the documents that will justify the bonuses

Salado said it is just a matter of providing the required documents.

He also said that extra bonuses can be granted to the employees as incentive if a local government unit has won an award for good performance.

The COA did not disallow the bonuses granted by the provincial government in 2017 and 2018 because of proper documentation, Salado said.

The provincial government last year granted employees P80,000 each in bonuses.