Barangay workers still hoping for Christmas gift from government

Despite the passing of Christmas, barangay workers of Cebu City are still hoping that the city government will finally give each of them a sack of rice as a Christmas gift.

"Maayo unta og malooy ang mayor nga mahatagan mi og bugas isip pinaskohan," a garbage collector of barangay Lorega-San Miguel said while collecting trash from the roadside.

"Nindot to sa Christmas 2005 kay nahatagan mi og tag usa ka sakong bugas," a worker of barangay T. Padilla recalled his Christmas two years ago.

Sisinio Andales, vice president of the city's Association of Barangay Councils, said ABC officials have been trying their best on the matter, so that each barangay worker of the city's 80 barangays may receive even half a sack of rice this time.

Each of the elected barangay officials had received last December a regular bonus equivalent to a month's honorarium but the barangay workers, including the tanods, did not.

Lorega barangay treasurer Rolando Maloloy-on said he is hoping that the city will still give sacks of rice to barangay workers but excluding the elected barangay officials.

A barangay worker of Day-as, who wished not to be identified, said he believes that Mayor Tomas Osmeña did not give sacks of rice to barangay workers last December due to huge expenses incurred for the preparations for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit.

The city government will spend at least P5 million to buy 5,000 sacks of rice, which will be distributed to each of the barangay workers in the city.

An observer suggested that if the city lacks the budget for the project, it should prioritize the garbage collectors.

"Ang mga garbage personnel g'yod luoy kaayo kay hugaw ang ilang trabaho ug gagmay pa g'yod og sweldo," he said. - Rene U. Borromeo