Talisay job order employees air gripe vs council’s fund cut

CEBU, Philippines - Some 300 job order employees of the Talisay City government staged a rally outside the council session hall yesterday morning to air their sentiments on the delay in the payment of their honorarium.

As early as 9 a.m., some of the JOs had left their respective assignments to gather outside the hall. They were blaming Vice Mayor Romeo Villarante and the opposition-majority bloc of the council for slashing the budget requested by Mayor Johnny De los Reyes.

In the third supplemental budget, approved by the council last month, the council noted appropriations that were supposedly intended to hire more JOs. The proposed allocation of P21 million was trimmed to P7.8 million.

"We are not government employees. We are job order personnel earning daily wages. But still we are very grateful to Mayor JVR for our jobs," said one of  the job order employees assigned at the park.

The job order employees are earning less than P300 per day.

The placards, which they posted on the wall outside the session hall, read "laslas de malas" and "I-uli ang budget alang sa Talisaynon."

Villarante, the council presiding officer, was not bothered by the protest, nonetheless.

In fact, he even invited some JOs to get inside to listen the discussion and he even put up sound systems outside for other personnel to hear the discussion inside.

The council then invited city budget officer Edgar Mabunay, city treasurer Emma Macuto, city accountant Luzviminda Villarante and Human Resources Development Officer Emily Cabrera to shed light on the status of the JOs and the delay of the release of their honorarium.

Cabrera told the council that the city government hired 1,800 job order employees. In the previous administration of former mayor Socrates Fernandez, the city government hired 1,200 JOs, she said.

Cabrera said hiring more than 1,000 job order workers is just justified due to the growing need of the city to address basic services.

"I don't think nga dili ta pwede maka-employ og more than 1,000 job orders tungod kay daghan naman ta og services compared before," Cabrera told the council.

But Villarante asked Cabrera if she was aware of the latest findings of the Commission on Audit, calling the attention of the government that hiring too much JOs in Talisay already exceeded the needed workforce.

Cabrera said she was not.

Meanwhile, Mabunay admitted that the city government exceeded in hiring JOs because the council only approved a budget intended for 600 of them. He said the reason why JOs did not receive their honorarium for August 16 to 30 and September 1 to 15 was because it was not appropriated.

"Ang nahitabo, pag-first and second quarter, naka-advance naman ta og bayad nga misobra man gyud ta. Mura ra man gud og add-on, murag ato rang gitapak kay sobra ang atong job order," Mabunay said.

He added that the city continues to ask for supplemental budget because they have to pay for the salaries of the excess JOs.

He also said his office has to look for money in order to pay those job order employees, pointing out that they have already rendered the services.

Luzviminda, who is not related to the vice mayor, said they are also worried on where to get the funds when payroll will arrive.

"Kami mismo naglibog mi kung pila gyud ang gikinahanglan nga job order," she said.

Councilor Valeriano Ylanan, who is allied to JVR, said the hiring of only 600 job order workers is not normal.

Villarante explained  that the council has not denied the supplemental budget asked by De los Reyes if only the latter can provide supporting documents for transparency's sake.

The mayor asked for the approval of the third supplemental budget amounting to P73,886,845 but the council only approved to P27,736,845. The approved amount represented only 38 percent of the proposal.

The vice mayor said the council has been asking the mayor, including the Human Resources Development Office, to reidentify the JOs since there are assignments which the department did not reportedly ask for.

Villarante then said that mayor hired 100 JOs, which he assigned in the barangays, and hired 39 confidential employees assigned at the office of  the mayor.

"Ang gibuhat ganiha mao kay gusto i-pressure kita ug pintalan ta og sayop," Villarante said.  (FREEMAN)