Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Some Filipino gov't workers take home a pittance, audit shows

..Manila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) - Philippine government employees should not be taking home a pittance because of too many deductions from their monthly salaries, according to the Commission on Audit (COA).

The COA reiterated a rule in the 2011 General Appropriations Act which states that authorized deductions are allowed provided they do not bring an employee's net monthly pay to less than 3,000 pesos (US$68).

The COA made the assertion in its 2011 annual report on Aklan province, where it found that some regular employees took home less than 3,000 pesos-with one employee netting only 200 pesos-a month because of deductions for taxes, work and health insurance, and loans.

Authorized deductions are those for the Bureau of Internal Revenue, Government Service Insurance System, PhilHealth, loan associations and cooperatives. Should the deductions bring the monthly pay to under 3,000 pesos, however, the deductions for the BIR, GSIS and PhilHealth would still be retained.

In response, the government of Aklan said its accounting office had adopted policies and internal controls in the issuance of certifications of net pay and in the processing of the payroll. One of this is a computer program that allows officials to monitor payroll deductions.

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