Blue Aid and Performance Bonus (Memo U2122-079)

Memo to        :           All University Employees

Subject           :          Blue Aid and Performance Bonus

During the President’s Hour in February 2022, I confirmed that for this fiscal year 2021-2022 Blue Aid will be provided to our employees. Blue Aid is a pandemic assistance provided to employees – you who have kept our operations steady amidst the Delta and the Omicron surges that hit our country and didn’t spare our community members, particularly employees and their families. Despite losses and health concerns, you still held on and strove to continue with your work and duties in the service of our mission.

Together, we made significant milestones this fiscal year as we became more adept in understanding and navigating this new environment. The University was able to launch its Lux in Domino 2030 strategic plan and is working on the Magis Aspirations we dream of doing to make a difference and be a force for good. Internally, functional restructuring and possible higher education integration have been set in motion, and the participation of our employees in these initiatives signifies our commitment to be better than where we are at present. We took courage in shepherding our students to pilot face-to-face classes and other activities which entailed a lot of preparation physically and psychologically. What started with apprehensions were eventually wrapped up with a different level of joy and energy. Gradually, we headed back to our respective offices for onsite work which will be in full swing come June 2022.

Regaining bits and pieces of our regular routines led us to continue reviewing our current systems and processes to see what we need to retain and continue doing, and where we need to change. We also revived some processes that were put on hold during the lockdown. One specific example is the evaluation of employee performance for fiscal years 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 to ascertain how we performed, identify areas for development and a chance to recognize good performers.

Together with Blue Aid, a one-time performance bonus shall be released to all employees who are qualified for performance evaluation and whose final evaluation ratings have been submitted.^[1] Those who are still completing the conduct of their performance evaluation shall receive their one-time performance bonus at a later time.^[2] This is the University’s token of appreciation for your time, contributions and effort to stand by our side especially in these most challenging times.

On behalf of the Board of Trustees and my brother Jesuits, I wish to express my deep appreciation to each and every one of you for your hard work and Ignatian generosity during these last two years. Your patience, dedication, and creativity throughout the difficult phases of this health crisis has ensured the sustainability and effectiveness of our beloved university.

May the Lord continue to grant us good health, and may He rekindle our shared desire to serve Him in this educational mission that is the Ateneo de Manila, ad majorem Dei gloriam.

^[1] Release of Blue Aid and Performance Bonus is scheduled on 31 May 2022. Amount will be credited to your payroll account.
^[2] Release of performance bonus to be announced to those concerned after submission of final performance evaluation.