Death, burial benefits for City Hall workers proposed

The City Council, during last Monday’s regular session, approved on first reading a proposed ordinance providing death and burial assistance for the officials and employees of the local government and appropriating funds for the said purpose.

Under the proposed ordinance authored by Councilor Leandro B. Yangot, Jr., it aims to provide financial assistance to local government officials and employees when death occurs in their family during the period of their employment.

The ordinance shall apply to all city government officials and employees who receive salaries and remunerations from the local government, provided that the recipient shall have rendered at least one year of continuous service.

The ordinance stipulated that the local government shall provide financial assistance for the death of a family member to be given to his or her beneficiaries – P20,000 for those who rendered more than one year but below 10 years of service; P25,000 to those who rendered more than 10 years but below 15 years of service; P30,000 to those who rendered more than 15 years but below 20 years of service; P35,000 for those who rendered more than 20 years but below 25 years of service; P40,000 for those who rendered more than 30 years but below 35 years of service and P50,000 for those who rendered more than 35 years of service.

For the death of any member of their immediate family, the government official or worker shall receive P5,000 while for death of any incumbent or previous elected official, his or her beneficiary shall receive P50,000.

The ordinance tasked the City Human Resource Management Office (CHRMO) to prepare a master list of eligible recipient employees based on the pertinent provisions of the proposed measure and the same shall be submitted to the City Mayor’s Office for ready reference.

Among the minimum standards for the availment of the said benefit include certified photocopy of the death certificate of the deceased member or any member of his or her immediate family; certified photocopy of marriage contract if the beneficiary or deceased is the spouse of the member; certified photocopy of the child if the beneficiary or the deceased is the child of the member; certified photocopy of the birth certificates of both the member and the immediate family of the beneficiary or deceased is a brother or sister of the member; certified photocopy of the birth certificate of the member if the beneficiary or deceased is his or her father or mother and certification from the CHRMO that the employee is a member.

The ordinance disclosed that the City Mayor’s Office, through the City Treasurer, shall award the assistance to the beneficiary in a fitting occasion.

The ordinance added that on the first year of its implementation, the funds to be used for the said assistance shall be allocated out of the City Mayor’s funds for grants and donations or from any available source, provided that, on the succeeding years, the City Budget Office shall prepare the annual budgetary appropriations for the same based on the approved list of recipient employees chargeable under the appropriations for other personal benefits or against any appropriate account. – Dexter A. See