Politicians tiptoeing around pay-cut plan

A new package of austerity measures to be presented by the Tenorio administration is still up for review by legislature, but lawmakers are likely to be cautious over a pay cut proposal for the nearly 5,000 government employees.

While mum on the proposal, Senate President Paul A. Manglona yesterday said they will look at the package first before agreeing on the plan to chip off five to 10 percent from the pay of government personnel, including civil service employees.

“The governor will be preparing a formal package for us to review and consider,” he said in interview. “But until such time, we cannot really comment on the details of the plan.”

Members of the Senate tackled in a recent meeting the various proposals broached by Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio on the heels of declining revenues and deepening financial turmoil besetting his administration.

One of the measures under consideration is to slash the salary of government personnel to boost savings and meet shortfall in the fiscal budget projected to top $32.5 million.

But senators are wary over the drastic step in view of its potential backlash. They have expressed their concerns in the meeting with Tenorio, the first in a series of crucial discussion on the issue.

“We want to make sure that those people that are in the lower bracket of the salary scale are not going to be much affected,” Manglona said.

The government is the largest single employer on the island with a 5,000-strong work force that eats up about 75 percent of its entire budget for 1999.

Last month, Manglona tasked two Senate committees to study the current economic crisis on the island in an effort to assist the administration deal with the problems that have plagued the government since late last year.

Although the special panel has yet to draw up a list of recommendations and possible solution by this week as directed, the Senate will still pursue the initiative in line with the forthcoming cost-cutting measures being drawn up by the administration, according to Manglona.

“We are trying to get a better grip of the problem,” he explained. “We need to review the package and maybe decide what is for the best interest of the commonwealth.”

The island is riled by the worsening slump following the collapse of most Asian economies. The region is its major source of investments and tourists.