DBM to auto-release funds for gov’t salary deficiencies by Q4

MANILA – Government employees who are promoted or whose positions are reclassified may soon receive salary adjustments faster as the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) moves to automatically release funds for personnel services (PS) deficiencies without requiring agencies to submit separate requests.

Acting Budget Secretary Kim Robert De Leon said the DBM is drafting a policy that would allow the department to identify salary funding gaps through updated agency plantilla records and release the necessary funds even without a formal request.

The policy is targeted for signing by the end of September, with live testing across government agencies scheduled in the fourth quarter of 2026.

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Under the current system, agencies must inform the DBM of personnel who have been promoted or whose positions have been reclassified, including their new salary levels, before the department can determine and release additional funding.

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“Hindi na kailangan pang i-request (There is no longer a need to request it),” De Leon said in a radio interview Saturday.

“Kailangan lang i-update ng ahensya yung master list na tinatawag namin ng kanilang plantilla, at ‘pag nakita namin na may kulang, kahit walang request, kailangan i-download namin sa kanila yung kakulangan nung pambayad ng pondo (The agency only needs to update its plantilla master list, and once we see that there is a deficiency, even without a request, we need to release the funds needed to pay for it),” he added.

De Leon said the reform will initially be tested in the fourth quarter, when agencies typically submit requests for PS deficiencies or additional funding to cover salaries and other personnel requirements.

The proposed mechanism could particularly benefit public school personnel whose positions are upgraded under the Department of Education’s (DepEd) Expanded Career Progression (ECP) System.

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The DBM recently approved the release of PHP8.68 billion to cover salary differentials for 93,344 reclassified public school positions for fiscal years 2025 and 2026.

Under the proposed 2027 National Budget, PHP12.09 billion is also earmarked for the continued implementation of the ECP System.

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The proposed DepEd budget for 2027 is PHP975.963 billion, including funding for salaries, the PHP10,000 annual teaching allowance, career progression, training, medical allowance, and other personnel benefits.

De Leon said the proposed automatic mechanism would apply not only to DepEd but also to other national government agencies with PS funding deficiencies.

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The DBM will use the fourth-quarter test to assess the mechanism’s effectiveness before considering its broader institutionalization.