Additional Salary for Bureau of Customs Staff

The letter is issued by virtue of the President’s powers vested in him by law.
It recognizes a prior incentive for the Bureau’s critical/sensitive role under P.D. No. 689, which previously granted a premium of seven (7) salary ranges, or approximately 35 percent, over and above other government offices.
It further relies on the authority recognized under P.D. 985, which empowers critical/sensitive government agencies like the Bureau of Customs to grant more incentives for their personnel despite a standardized salary system.
It contrasts the Bureau of Customs incentives with later salary adjustments under National Budget Circular No. 305, which gave other agencies 15% to 64.5% increases for positions covered by the National Compensation and Classification Plan.

The letter anchors the additional adjustment on reforms at the Bureau of Customs that improved valuation and classification, cargo handling, assessment, law enforcement, manpower development, and computerization, resulting in unprecedented customs revenue collection.
It attributes the need for the adjustment to the Bureau’s collection performance in 1979 and its collection level in 1978 exceeding targets by 2.1 billion (30%) and P2,561,523,133.61 (30.75%), respectively.
It emphasizes the Bureau’s paramount importance as a revenue-collecting agency to achieve and maintain accelerating economic development and social progress.
It targets restoration of the previously accorded salary gap so Bureau personnel receive commensurate incentives for their vital role as a revenue-producing agency.
It explains that earlier incentives for the Bureau lagged behind other agencies because the Bureau’s earlier increases were only 5% to 6.9%, while other agencies received larger adjustments.

The additional salary adjustment applies to officers and employees of the Bureau of Customs.
The letter grants the adjustment specifically to personnel of the Bureau as a revenue-producing, critical/sensitive agency.
The adjustment is issued as an order for implementation by the Minister of the Budget for the affected Bureau personnel.

The President orders an additional 20 percent salary adjustment for the Bureau of Customs personnel.
The adjustment takes effect on January 1, 1980.
The salary adjustment required by the letter is to be drawn from savings of the said Bureau and/or the Salary Adjustment Fund in the CY 1980 General Appropriations Act.
The letter thereby ties implementation to existing budgetary resources for CY 1980.

The letter directs that implementation be carried out through the Minister of the Budget.
The adjustment is ordered to be implemented at the start of the effectivity date, January 1, 1980, rather than from the letter’s date.
The funding source is limited to Bureau savings and/or the Salary Adjustment Fund within the CY 1980 General Appropriations Act.