Aquino orders building of govt manpower database

President Benigno Simeon Aquino III has signed Executive Order No. 31 ordering national departments and agencies to submit to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) a complete list of their personnel. In EO 31, signed March 30, 2011, Mr Aquino instructed the DBM to establish a comprehensive database on government manpower (CDGM) for budget management and other purposes. The list to be submitted to DBM should include positions, incumbents, and authorized compensation, on all civilian, military, and uniformed personnel complement, whether regular, casual or contractual in nature. In a press statement, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said Aquino’s directive will allow DBM to set aside more accurately funds for the national government’s personnel services requirements, including pension obligations. “The Aquino administration is taking concrete steps to address the recently-revealed abuses in the use of personnel funds in the military, as well as the exorbitant pay received by officials of government firms," he said. He said the DBM earlier withheld P8.6 billion and P11 billion worth of salaries and benefits of military personnel of the DND and uniformed personnel of the DILG, respectively. “Meanwhile, measures to standardize the compensation of GOCC board members have been put in place," he said. “This new directive from the President is a major step in fulfilling his promise of kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap. A comprehensive database of government personnel—including those employed in the military, law enforcement agencies and government firms—will come a long way in preventing abuses in the use of personnel funds," Abad said. Existing database To comply with Aquino's directive, the DBM will build on its existing Government Manpower Information System (GMIS), a database of information on government positions, incumbents, and authorized compensation. The present GMIS, however, does not cover the military personnel of the DND, uniformed personnel of the DILG and the PCG, casual and contractual personnel, and personnel of GOCCs and GFIs. “In the past, we have had difficulty in securing the manpower rosters of certain agencies. The President’s directive means that this time around, all agencies should comply with standards of accountability and good governance when it comes to PS spending," Abad said. EO31 stated that the Department of National Defense, Department of Interior and Local Government, Philippine Coast Guard, and National Mapping and Resource Information Authority shall submit their roster of military or uniformed personnel, as the case may be, within the first half of the year 2011. The list of employees of the government owned and controlled corporations, government financial institutions and constitutional offices should also be submitted to the DBM. 32 percent of budget The Personal Services (PS) appropriations comprise more than 32 percent of the national budget “so the government should have complete and accurate data on its manpower complement in order to effectively manage and control its PS expenditures," the EO read. With the CDGM, the DBM can recommend a PS appropriation that is consistent with the CDGM. “Consequently, the national government shall only provide and make payments for the authorized compensation of personnel as reflected in the CDGM. Any and all payments made beyond or in excess of the foregoing shall be considered illegal disbursement of public funds, and shall make the responsible officials administratively and criminally accountable therefore," the EO further stated. It added that the DBM, together with the Civil Service Commission (CSC), shall conduct a risk-based personnel audit of the manpower complement of government agencies on a regular basis. The DBM shall protect the confidentiality of all data and information gathered and stored in the CDGM and any breach of confidentiality or unauthorized disclosure of these data and information shall make the responsible officials administratively and criminally liable. – VVP, GMA News