PERFORMANCE BASED BONUS (PBB) Update for FY 2021

 The Performance-Based Bonus or PBB will be given to employees based on their contribution to the accomplishment of their Department's overall targets and commitments.

Under the PBB, units of Departments will be ranked according to their performance. The personnel within these units shall also be ranked. The ranking of units and personnel will be based on their actual performance at the end of the year, as measured by verifiable, observable, credible, and sustainable indicators of performance.

PBB Update for FY 2021 As of May 16, 2022:

According to the PBB Secretariat the Performance based Bonus (PBB) for FY 2021: 

" The review and validation is still ongoing."

Introduction to the Performance-Based Incentive System (PBIS) for National Government Agencies and Employees

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is PBIS?

The Performance-Based Incentive System (PBIS) is a new system of incentives for government employees that is being introduced in FY 2012, per EO No. 80.{{1}} Under this new system, employees may receive two incentives: the Performance-Based Bonus (PBB) and the Productivity Enhancement Incentive (PEI).

The PBB is a top-up bonus that is given to employees based on their performance and contributions to the accomplishment of their Department’s overall targets and commitments.{{2}} This will be on top of the PEI current annual incentive distributed to employees across the board. The amount available for PEI bonuses will depend on savings incurred by the national government.

What is PBB?

The PBB, which is the new bonus introduced via the PBIS, will be given to employees based on their contribution to the accomplishment of their Department’s overall targets and commitments.

Under the PBB, units of Departments will be ranked according to their performance. The personnel within these units shall also be ranked. The ranking of units and personnel will be based on their actual performance at the end of the year, as measured by verifiable, observable, credible, and sustainable indicators of performance.

What is the difference between PBIS and PBB?

The PBB or the Performance-Based Bonus is a component of the PBIS or the Performance-Based Incentive System. The PBB is a top-up bonus which will be given to employees based on their contribution to the achievement of their Department or Agency’s targets and commitments in FY 2012. The other component is the PEI, which is provided to employees across the board, regardless of their actual performance.

What is the difference between PBB and the bonuses currently given to national government employees?

The PBB is a new incentive given to government employees based on their performance. This is different from existing bonuses in government, which are given to employees across the board, regardless of their performance.

The PBB was introduced by the Aquino Administration to reward and encourage exemplary performance among public servants in national government. The PBB, as introduced in 2012, is on top of the following bonuses currently provided to government employees:

i. Mid-Year and Year-End Bonuses are the government equivalent of the 13th Month Pay of employees in the private sector. Like the 13th Month Pay, the total amount of the Mid-year and Year-end Bonuses are equivalent to their one month’s salary, depending on their rank and salary grade. The Mid-year and Year-end Bonuses are given no earlier than May 1 and November 15, respectively.

ii. The Cash Gift is an across-the-board bonus of P5,000 given to each employee of the national government. It is released in two tranches: at the middle and end of the year, together with the Mid-year and Year-end Bonuses.

iii. The Collective Negotiation Agreement (CNA) Bonus, meanwhile, is provided to employees of government agencies where there is an accredited employee’s union, and where the agency and the union have entered into a Collective Negotiation Agreement (CNA).

The CNA Bonus is funded by savings from the agency’s maintenance expenditure items identified in their CAN. An agency can raise these savings through cost cutting and productivity measures—identified in their CNA.

iv. The PEI is an existing across-the-board bonus, given equally to government employees. Unlike the Mid-year and Year-End Bonuses and Cash Gifts, the amount given per employee is not fixed. Instead, the amount depends on the level of savings incurred and authorized by the national government to fund the PEI. Thus, the amount per employee has varied through the years.

1. Will our PEI be smaller in 2012?

Yes. In 2011, the PEI was P10,000. This year it is P5,000. But this does not include other bonuses given throughout the year.

2. Does this mean that employees will get less this year than the amount given in 2011?

Since the PBB will be given on top of the PEI, only the underperforming minority will be getting less, while the majority of performing employees will get the same amount as last year’s PEI. Employees who demonstrate exemplary performance, on the other hand, will actually enjoy bigger bonuses.

Assuming, for example, that everyone achieves their respective targets, about 42.25 percent of employees will get a top-up PBB bonus of P5,000 in addition to their PEI of P5,000. This adds up to P10,000, which is the same amount received by employees in 2011.

Meanwhile, more than 50 percent of employees will receive bonuses higher than P10,000, since the PBB for better performers ranges from P7,000 to P35,000. This way, exceptional performers are given due recognition and reward, encouraging the rest of the bureaucracy to follow suit and aim for exemplary public service.

How much will the PBB be?

The amount will depend on the performance of each employee and the unit that he/she belongs to. This is to foster a culture of teamwork within each unit and within the department itself, especially if the latter has different kinds of outputs and services to deliver.

The Best Performer from the best-performing unit or “Best Bureau” will get a PBB of P35,000; the Better Performer from a “Better Bureau” will get P13,500; while the Good Performer from a “Good Bureau” will get P5,000. However, the minority of poor performers will get no PBB.

In other words, the PBIS provides the best rewards for the best people in the bureaucracy, amounting to a total of P40,000 with the PBB and PEI combined.

Under the PBIS, however, underperformers will not be left empty-handed: they will still receive the P5,000 across-the-board PEI.

Will government employees get less as a result of PBIS?

PBIS-covered government employees will still receive their Year-End and Mid-Year Bonuses, Cash Gifts, and CNA Bonuses. These bonuses are separate from the PBIS and are therefore unaffected by an employee’s performance.

For the PEI and PBB—which now fall under PBIS starting 2012—most government employees will receive the same or even much more that what they used to receive under the PEI in the previous years. We place this at 57 percent based on the approved distribution of the PBB, on the assumption that the agency meets the minimum performance standard. Only the minority of underperformers will get less: a PEI of 5,000, which will be given across-the-board.

Is it fair for government employees who will get less than what they used to get?

For the longest time, good performers in government received little to no recognition for their hard work. Majority of them receive as much in bonuses as their coworkers who underperform or do not take responsibility for their tasks.

Through the PBIS, the Aquino administration seeks to foster a culture of fairness and excellence in the bureaucracy, where good work is duly recognized, while poor output goes unrewarded.

Is the PBB just a new name for an additional “Christmas Bonus” for government employees?

No. The PBB is not a holiday or Christmas Bonus. Instead, the PBB is based on an agency and employee’s actual performance. It is therefore a reward for good performance, not a gift or entitlement.

Because an agency and its employees are going to be assessed based on their actual performance from January 1 to December 31, 2012, distributing the PBB will start in January of next year. However, agencies that have met at least 90 percent of their performance targets by November 30, 2012 (see Section C) may have their actual performance evaluated earlier. This will allow for the possible release of their employees’ PBB by end-December 2012.

Why do we need the PBB when we already have all these other bonuses?

Under the status quo, bonuses are given uniformly to all civil servants, regardless of their performance. In some cases, this incentive system has even been abused. To remedy this, the Aquino administration sought to introduce a new system that will focus on service delivery and reward the best in the bureaucracy through incentives that correspond with the performance of employees and their offices.

In other words, having definite rewards for exemplary work can inspire public servants to perform better. This can even motivate their co-workers in their own units to perform well, too. Altogether, such a system is designed to encourage improved performance and better accountability, in line with ensuring the accomplishment of the Administration’s priority development agenda.

More importantly, however, the PBB seeks to transform the management of agency and employee performance to foster a culture of accountable public service, as well as produce concrete and visible improvements in the delivery of public goods and services. The ultimate aim of the PBB—besides instituting a genuine meritocracy in Philippine government—is to serve the Filipino public more effectively and efficiently.

How will the PBI be funded?

For national agencies, both the PEI and the PBB shall be sourced from the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund (MPBF). For GOCCs, their PBB shall be sourced from their corporate funds.

How will the PBIS be implemented?

The PBIS will be implemented in annual phases. FY 2012 is the pilot implementation year of the PBIS. What we intend to do in FY 2012 is to lay down the pre-conditions for a successful PBIS, such as setting clear and reasonable performance indicators and targets with the Departments. This allows the government to make a credible PBB system as well as a reasonably good validation system.

The AO25 Task Force will support Departments during the pilot implementation year, especially with respect to laying down targets based on the President’s priorities.

FY 2013 shall be the Harmonization Phase, during which the Results-Based Performance Management System (RBPMS; see Section D) will be put in place, together with a Strategic Performance Management System (SPMS) prescribed by the Civil Service Commission. Thus, the guidelines on the PBB shall be updated to reflect, harmonize, and implement the two systems. Departments will then be expected to submit an improved set of performance targets and indicators.

In FY 2014, we can already expect the alignment of the Department targets with its smallest operational units. In addition to the FY 2013 good governance conditions, two or three more conditions should be met. A gradual increase from the FY 2013 bonus is likewise expected.

In FY 2015, the PBB should have reached the Institutionalization Phase. The system will be fully developed by this time, so that there is full alignment of Department targets with individual targets. In addition to the FY 2014 good governance conditions, two or three more conditions should be met. A gradual increase from the FY 2014 bonus is also expected.

When will the PBB be given out to employees?

The PBB will be given to employees only after their departments and agencies have 1.) accomplished all PBIS eligibility criteria, 2.) met their performance targets, and 3.) submitted all their accomplishment reports to the AO25 Task Force before the deadline (see Section C).

The final deadline for such accomplishment reports will be in the first week of January 2013. However, agencies that have met their performance targets by November 30, 2012 (see Section C) may be have their actual performance evaluated sooner, so that the government can facilitate the possible release of their employees’ PBB within December 2012.

Will all employees get their PBB by the end of 2012?

No. Only employees belonging to agencies that have met their performance targets by November 30, 2012 (see Section C) can have their actual performance evaluated to facilitate the possible release of their employees’ PBB within December 2012.

However, if agencies do not meet this early deadline for the submission of accomplishment reports, then their final deadline will be in the first week of January 2013.

Do agency heads have the authority to redistribute the PBB equally to their employees?

No. The PBB shall be given based on the performance ranking of delivery units and the individuals within these units. Agency heads are not allowed to diverge from the objective system of performance ranking under the PBIS. Otherwise, they defeat the very purpose of the PBIS.

Source:QCPSTA Teachers FB PAGE, FAQ Article officialgazette.gov.ph