COTABATO CITY—To shed light on various matters pertaining to separation pay and terminal leave benefits (TLB) of then-Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) employees, the Office of the Chief Minister (OCM) and Ministry of Finance, and Budget and Management (MFBM) jointly held a virtual forum today, Jan. 12, 2022.
OCM Human Resources Management Division Chief Lady Hanifah Mindalano-Alonto emphasized that “the forum was necessary to further unify interpretation of terms pertaining to employees’ benefits”.
Meanwhile, Director Mary Anne Dela Vega of the Budget Management Bureau-Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and Branch Manager Bai Cerynea Aquino of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS)- Cotabato Branch answered various queries from closed to 100 heads of offices and staff of different BARMM ministries.
Responding to one of the audiences, who asked regarding payment of the TLB of then-ARMM employees, Dela Vega said, “ the national government, thru DBM, shall shoulder those benefits incurred under then-ARMM with consultation to their principals.”
In concurrence, MFBM Deputy Minister Atty. Ubaida Pacasem affirmed the DBM’s response and further stressed that the calculation of benefits varies per case, especially, if employees are hired in BARMM.
It shall be noted that under the new parliamentary government, then employees of ARMM are allowed to join the new government provided that the benefits enjoyed out of their separation from previous government shall be returned either in lump-sum or staggered basis thru their new agency.
“Guidelines on this matter shall be laid as soon as it is finalized,” Pacasem added. (Abdullah Matucan/BIO)
