Mayor fires City Hall worker

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama had no second thoughts in terminating the contract of a job order employee assigned at the Cebu City Hospitalization Assistance and Medicines Program who allegedly harassed a 19-year-old intern through text messages.

Rama said he approve the recommendation of his chief of staff, who investigated the case, to terminate the services of Oliver Ruiz.

Philip Zafra, the mayor’s chief of staff, said he will check with the Human Resource Development Office what month Ruiz’s contract will end.

Ruiz has worked for the City Government for a year now. He allegedly sent an on-the-job trainee some text messages threatening to defame her by posting edited pictures of her in her swimwear which he downloaded from the complainant’s Facebook account.

Ruiz had denied the accusations against him, saying he was just joking and that the intern misinterpreted his text messages.

Based on the complaint filed before the legal department, the student said she did not expect she would receive such an “unruly” behavior from a government employee.

She met Ruiz when the latter visited the Public Information Office where she is assigned. The student accepted the offer for friendship and gave him her contact number and Facebook account because Ruiz, she said, was persistent.

But Ruiz allegedly got mad at her and sent her messages threatening to defame her because she was not giving him attention. (FREEMAN)