MANILA (UPDATE)- President Rodrigo Duterte signed into law Wednesday a measure increasing wages of government workers, particularly teachers.

Duterte signed Republic Act No. 11466 or the Salary Standardization Law of 2019 which increases the pay of civilian government employees starting January 2020.

It also establishes a performance-based incentive scheme to reward exemplary civil servants and well-performing organizations.

Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo on Thursday said the new measure seeks to "promote excellence" among government employees.

"This measure will rationalize the compensation of all civilian personnel including those in the legislative and judicial branches as well as the local government units under certain conditions," Panelo told reporters.

The wage hike also includes workers of constitutional commissions, local government units, and government-owned or controlled corporations that are not covered by the GOCC Governance Act of 2011.

Under the measure, employees will get salary increases in 4 tranches until 2023 regardless of whether they are regular, contractual or casual, appointed or elected, and working on a full-time or part-time basis.

Excluded from the increases, however, are military and uniformed personnel, employees covered by the GOCC Governance Act of 2011 and those working under job orders, contracts of service, consultancy-basis, or service contracts with no employer-employee relation.

For this year, a salary grade 1 employee's income will increase to P12,244 from the current P11,551. It will reach P13,780 by 2023.

Employees under salary grades 10 to 15 will enjoy the biggest increases at 20 to 30 percent.

Those under salary grades 23 to 33, meanwhile, will receive an 8 percent increase in their income.

The President, who holds salary grade 33, will see a pay hike to P423,723 from the present P411,382 by 2023.

The law also retains the prevailing year-end bonus for government employees which is equivalent to a month's salary as well as a P5,000 cash gift.

Employees will also receive a mid-year bonus equivalent to a month's salary that should be given on or before May 15.

Read the full measure here:

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