Rama to give Charter Day bonus

CEBU, Philippines - Employees of the Cebu City Government have something to look forward to in next week’s Charter Day celebration.

Mayor Michael Rama announced yesterday that he intends to give Charter Day bonus to each of the close to 5,000 Cebu City officials and employees.

He already instructed Budget Officer Nelfa Briones to find out how much the city can give.

The mayor said if the city has enough funds, he is willing to give P10,000 to each of the officials and employees.

“We’ll see.  If the funds are not enough, maybe, they will get P5,000 each,” Rama said.

Last year, the employees and officials received P10,000 each.

The city workers are also hoping that Mayor Rama will release the remaining P10,000 of the P20,000 Christmas bonus that the City Council approved last December.

But City Accountant Diwa Cuevas said while the mayor was eager to give P20,000 to the employees, it could not be done as it will be a violation of the existing policy of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) that expenses for salaries and other benefits of employees should not be more than 45 percent of the total budget. (FREEMAN)