DEC.

30, 2011 DATE

NR # 2633
REF. NO.

Additional benefits for jail guards pushed

The House Committee on Government Reorganization is considering the early passage of a bill increasing the salary scale of members of the security force of the Bureau of Corrections. Rep. Ma. Amelita Calimbas-Villarosa (Lone District, Occidental Mindoro), author of House Bill 2059, said the custodial force of the BoC under the Department of Justice (DOJ) receives far less remuneration for their services than the jail guards of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) under the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) even as they perform similar functions. There is an urgent need to rectify a rather iniquitous situation of these government personnel who perform relatively similar functions, Calimbas-Villarosa said. My proposal is to streamline the Bureau of Corrections bureaucracy which could be achieved, among other steps, by promoting employee welfare and professionalizing the staff thru education and skills development programs, Calimbas-Villarosa added. Under the bill, the proposed salary scale of officials and members of the custodial force in the Bureau of Corrections are as follows: (1) Director V (Salary Grade n (SG) 30 from the current SG 29); (2) Assistant Director IV (SG 29 from 28); (3) Superintendent IV (SG 27 from 29); (4) Superintendent III (SG 25 from 24); (5) Superintendent II (SG 24 from 22); (6) Superintendent I (SG 23 from 20; (7) Corrections Institution Supervisor (SG 22 from 18); (8) (Prison Security Officer III) Corrections Institution Supervisor (SG 22 from 18); (9) (Prison Security Officer III) (SG 20 from 15); (10) (Prison Security Officer I) Corrections Supervising Officer II (SG 18 from 11); (11) (Prison Guard III) Corrections Supervising Officer I (SG 15 from 10); (12) (Prison Guard II) Corrections Officer II (SG 13 from 7); (13) (Prison Guard I) Corrections Officer I (SG 10 from 5); (14) (Wardress II Correctional Institution for Women) Corrections Officer II (SG 13 from 7); and (15) (Wardress I Correctional Institution for women) Corrections Officer I (SG 10 from 5). The bill mandates the BoC to implement an educational program to upgrade the professional knowledge and skills of its employees. Under the bill, the members of the custodial force and other staff of the Bureau may avail of grants, scholarships and privileges, local and foreign, to increase their professional knowledge and hone their expertise and skills without prejudice to efficiency in the service. Likewise, the members of the custodial force shall be covered by life and accident insurance while in the performance of their official duties and functions, and should be provided with health care services thru a health maintenance organization (HMO). The bill further states that upon compulsory retirement, any custodial officer from the rank of Superintendent IV and below shall be entitled to retirement benefits computed on the basis of one grade higher than the position he last held. (30) dpt