Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon has awarded Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) employees five additional paid vacation days as 'wellness leave' to promote their well-being and mental health. This addition brings their total vacation days to nearly 40 per year.
Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon issued a department order on February 3 granting officials and employees of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) five days of 'Wellness Leave' per year. The order states, 'Officials and employees shall be entitled to five days Wellness Leave per year, which may be availed of for purposes including, but not limited to, mental health care, physical wellness activities or a general break from work.' This leave cannot be converted to cash or monetized.
The policy applies to all permanent, temporary, coterminous, and contractual employees, including those under Contract of Service and Job Order arrangements. Combined with their existing 15 days of vacation leave, 15 days of sick leave, and three days of special leave, DPWH staff now have nearly 40 vacation days annually.
Dizon was appointed to the DPWH in early September to address corruption scandals, particularly ghost flood control projects that sparked public outrage. In his initial days, he suspended the wearing of DPWH uniforms to protect employees from angry citizens. He acknowledged systemic, department-wide corruption that led to overpricing of infrastructure projects through inflated Construction Materials Price Data (CMPD) and Detailed Unit Price Analysis at regional and district engineering offices.
On October 30, Dizon ordered a reduction in CMPD across all regions, a measure he said would generate immediate savings of P60 billion.
