Dentists and dental employees of the Manila Health Department may be given monetary allowance by the city government through an ordinance filed by the office of District 1 Councilor Ernesto Dionisio Jr.

According to Julius Art Maputi, staff of councilor Dionisio, the ordinance was made to answer the local dentists’ appeal for a salary increase.

Maputi explained that the dental employees are allegedly not included in the increase of salary grade assignments of government personnel under the Department of Budget and Management’s (DBM) Local Budget Circular No. 2009-92 dated Sept. 3, 2009, pursuant to Executive Order (EO) No. 811.

Signed on June 17, 2009, the EO states that it shall “prescribe the first tranche of the modified salary schedule of civilian personnel and base pay schedule of military and uniformed personnel in the government and direct the review and modification of the position classified system.”

However, the DBM guidelines did not take account the dental and clinical force in its circular, as the official list of re-allocated positions that will benefit from an increase includes only education, library, museum and archival services; accounting groups; dietetics, medical, medical technology, and nursing groups; occupational, physical, and speech therapy groups, pharmaceutical groups, and legal counseling groups.

Gianellie Garcia, president of the Manila Health Department Dental Association, said the exclusion of public dentists in the list of occupational services on medicine and health also “stirs some controversy as to the real definition of their functions.”

She added, “While medical officer IV, for example, with salary grade 20 is upgraded to salary grade 21 and nurse II with salary grade 16 is upgraded to 17, public dentists will definitely lag behind.”

Maputi said Dionisio sponsored the ordinance, as the dentists’ letter of appeal to the Office of Mayor Alfredo Lim and the manifestation of support of the mayor would not be enough to secure and grant them their demands. He added that the allowance is meant to fill up the necessary salary increment that is supposed to be provided for government employees.

Asked where the dental employees will get their allowance, Maputi said that money will come from any unappropriated budget of the city government.