Talisay fact-finding committee says: Complaint vs. huge OT pay of 2 workers valid

After going through the records and questioning the concerned individuals, the fact-finding committee looking into the complaint against two employees of the Talisay City Hall has found legal implication on it.

"The complaint has legal implication. Thus, it must be referred to the office of the City Legal Officer for appropriate legal action," read the committee report penned by Councilor Serrie Restauro, chairman of the council committee on good government, public ethics and accountability.

The committee was tasked to investigate the complaint against Nona Narca and Edena Abalo who are assigned at the city budget office.

Earlier, the Talisay City Employees' Union-Cebu alleged that Narca and Abalo received excessive and "questionable" overtime pay in 2004.

The committee findings stated that, "some entries in the punch card were not rightly reflected in the DTR (Daily Time Record)."

The two employees presented their DTRs as reflected in their punch cards as proof of their overtime services from July to November 2004 which later on earned them about P30,000 as payment.

However, the committee found the proof as "irrelevant" since around that time the biometric machine, a computerized attendance recorder, was already used and "some entries in the punch card were not rightly reflected in the DTR."

It also found out that there was "high magnitude of discrepancy" as there was no time-in and time-out in the DTRs of Narca and Abalo. With this finding, the committee saw that the Human Resource Management officer Emily Cabrera is "answerable due to the haphazard checking on the DTRs."

It also found City Accountant Viluzminda Villarante answerable for approving the records. Villarante denied the 2005 overtime pay of the two employees, thereby giving the committee the impression that she was "inconsistent."

The two employees admitted to the investigating panel that budget officer Edgardo Mabunay allowed them to work overtime without having to punch in and punch out.

According to the committee report, Mabunay "candidly admitted that he bestowed authority to the subject employees to render overtime services at home."

Restauro's team recommended that department heads should be "more vigilant in checking/scrutinizing the necessary public documents before affixing their respective signatures" and that overtime services with pay should be rendered only inside the office premises and during regular working days.

The fact-finding committee also held firm that the employees, particularly those who are rendering overtime services, should use the biometric machines or the bandy clock for a valid proof.

"Heads of offices should encourage 'skills/knowledge sharing' among their subordinates with full supervision, in order to efficiency expedite and improve productivity, and to further enhance services to the public," said the committee report.

And before the council approved and adopted the report, Restauro stipulated additional recommendation to refer the findings to the Ombudsman-Visayas.

Councilor Allan Bucao, however, was not satisfied with Restauro's recommendation, summing it up as "retraining" for the "erring" employees when what they did was tantamount to dishonesty of which penalty under the Civil Service Commission Law is termination. -Liv G. Campo