Republic Act No. 8441

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

Section 1

Section 1 of Republic Act No. 6686 is hereby amended to read as follows:

"Section 1. All officials and employees of the National Government who have rendered at least four months of service from January 1 to October 31 of each year and who are employed in the government service as of October 31 of the same year shall each receive a Christmas bonus equivalent to one month basic salary and additional cash gift of Five thousand pesos (P5,000.00) to be implemented over a period of three (3) years, to wit:

"(a) Two thousand pesos (P2,000.00) for the Christmas Year 1997;

"(b) Three thousand pesos (P3,000.00) for the Christmas Year 1998; and

"(c) Five thousand pesos (P5,000.00) for the Christmas Year 1999 and thereafter."

Section 2

Section 2 of Republic Act No. 6686 is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 2. Officials and employees of the National Government who have rendered less than four months of service from January 1 to October 31 of each year and who are employed in the government service as of October 31 of the same year shall be entitled solely to the following percentage of the cash gift:

"Length of Service	Percentage
"3 months but less than 4 months	40%
"2 months but less than 3 months	30%
"1 month but less than 2 months	20%
"Less than one month	10%"

Section 3

Section 3 of Republic Act No. 6686 is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 3. For CY 1997, the amount needed to implement this Act for national officials and employees, and barangay chairmen under Section 5 hereof shall be taken from current year's appropriations for the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund and appropriation savings and reserves authorized under Republic Act No. 8250, the General Appropriations Act for 1997. For the succeeding years, the amount shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act."

Section 4

Section 4 of Republic Act No. 6686 is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 4. All officials and employees of local government units may receive the same benefits as are provided under Sections 1 and 2 of this Act chargeable against their respective local funds. For CY 1997, local government units (municipalities, cities and provinces) may realign their budgets to give priority to the funding requirements under this Act and any deficiency may be booked as accounts payable to be paid on a first priority basis in succeeding years."

Section 5

Section 5 of Republic Act No. 6686 is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 5. Barangay chairmen shall each receive a cash gift of Five thousand pesos (P5,000.00) payable out of the funds provided for in Section 3 hereof. This shall be implemented in accordance with Sections 1 and 2 of this Act."

Section 6

Section 6 of Republic Act No. 6686 is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 6. No official or employee shall receive Christmas bonus from any and all sources in excess of the one month basic salary and cash gift as provided under Sections 1 and 2 of this Act."

Section 7

All laws, executive issuances and any rules and regulations which may be inconsistent with any of the provisions of this Act are hereby deemed amended, repealed and modified accordingly.

Section 8

This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved: December 22, 1997