Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go on Tuesday pushed for the protection of government servants by ensuring a more competitive pay to promote the welfare of civil servants.

During the Senate hearing on the senator’s Senate Bill 200, or the proposed “Act Modifying the Salary Schedule for Civilian Government Personnel, Go stressed that the government continues to look for ways to promote the welfare of civil servants and increase their pay.

“As promised by the President, the government will continue to look after the welfare of its employees and grant salary increase to all civilian employees, including teachers and nurses. The approach is holistic,” Go said. “We intend to provide competitive and equitable pay to attract and retain competent and committed civil servants, while also keeping it affordable and sustainable.”

The lawmaker also noted that the proposed salary adjustments will provide better pay rates for government employees, while prioritizing the salary increase for teachers and other rank-and-file positions.

“The proposed salary adjustments will raise the pay of government personnel to a level closer to market rates, while giving priority to the rank-and-file positions in the sub-professional and professional categories, especially the teachers,” said Go.

“An adjustment in the basic salary will also result to higher take-home pay as benefits such as Mid-Year and Year-End Bonuses will also increase,” he added.

Go has been a staunch proponent of higher salaries for civil servants. In July, the Senator filed Senate Bill 200 or the proposed “Act Modifying the Salary Schedule for Civilian Government Personnel” to include salary increase for teachers and nurses.