The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) failed to fulfill a commitment to give what is due to government weathermen on time by they are nonetheless finally releasing what appears to be just part of the withheld benefits that the storm chasers have long been waiting for.
In allowing the release of P39.5 million to support the Magna Carta benefits for employees of the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa),  the government gets to fulfill just half of what the government weathermen have been asking for the last two years.
In a statement farmed out to the Palace reporters, the DBM media bureau claimed that the release will cover the funding requirement for Pagasa worker perks from March to June 2012.
The release — as confirmed by the issuance of a Special Allotment Release Order (SARO) by the DBM — will account for benefits named under the Magna Carta, specifically the laundry, subsistence, longevity and hazard allowances due Pagasa employees for the first semester.
“We already issued a SARO in mid-August to cover the funding requirements for Pagasa  worker benefits in the first semester of 2012. In other words, the agency’s Magna Carta allowances for the first half of the year have already been fully accounted for. However, we wish to emphasize that the release of Magna Carta perks will be strictly enforced according to Magna Carta law and its implementing guidelines in the second semester of the year,” Budget and Management Secretary Butch Abad said.
He added:“We will be expecting strict compliance with the Magna Carta guidelines to preclude irregularities and fund abuse that have already become a common practice in many government agencies.”
Abad  reiterated that the other demand of the 15 weathermen threatening mass resignation is not provided for under such guidelines.
Abad cited the frequent violation of rules set for the provision of Magna Carta perks, especially for the release of hazard pay to Pagasa employees. The budget chief particularly noted the frequent realignment of department funds for unfilled positions to support Magna Carta benefits, which were often overinflated or unwarranted.
“For the longest time, Pagasa  has dispensed hazard allowances to all its employees, without any distinction whatsoever between workers exposed to risk and those who are merely working in uncompromised environments. This isn’t just a glaring violation of the law — the practice also contradicts the guidelines dictated by Pagasa  itself,” Abad said.
According to the Magna Carta applicable to Department of Science and Technology (DoST) employees, an agency should source its hazard and longevity pay from year-end savings. However, departments often realign their allocations for Personal Services and Maintenance and Other Operating Expenditures  to augment alleged savings, which are frequently insufficient for supporting Magna Carta perks.
“When an agency realigns its funds for operational and human resource requirements, it   runs counter to this Administration’s values of transparency and accountability. It also results in the inefficient delivery of public goods and services,” Abad said.