Villarante to JVR: Stop hiring job order employees

CEBU, Philippines – Talisay City Vice Romeo Villarante yesterday urged the administration of Mayor Johnny De los Reyes to refrain from entertaining applicants for job order slots because of the lack of budget.

Villarante said the current administration is in a quandary on the actual financial status of the city or how much fund the city has left for the remaining months of the year.

The City Council, in the third supplemental budget it approved last month, slashed the P21 million allocation, intended for the hiring of more JOs, to P7.8 million, but the mayor did not approved it.

Last Tuesday morning, at least 300 JO employees staged a rally outside the Council's session hall to air their gripes over the delay in the release of their honoraria.

But Villarante turned the table against JVR, saying that if the JOs had not yet received their honoraria, it is the mayor to be blamed.

What followed was a one-page letter, circulated at the City Hall yesterday and titled "Mga sayop ni Mayor JVR dili ipasangil sa Konseho." It stated: "Wala pirmahi ni JVR ang third supplemental budget nga P27-million. Unsaon sa pagpansuweldo sa atong accountant ug treasurer kun wala'y otoridad sa mayor, pinaagi sa iyang pagpirma?"

The city government exceeded in hiring JOs because the City Council only approved a budget intended for 600 of them. So far, the JOs did not receive their honorarium, covering August 16 to 30 and September 1 to 15, because it was not appropriated, said Villarante.

The JVR administration hired 1,000 JOs, 400 of whom failed to receive their honoraria until now, said the vice mayor. He said he had been asking the same questions to Human Resources Development officer Emily Cabrera to be enlightened on the current status of the JOs, but the latter could not provide him the answer.

Cabrera, however, defended the hiring of JOs, saying this was the only way the city can provide complete services to the people. She said there are other JOs who are still working in the city, such as the traffic enforcers and garbage collectors, who have been working on a project basis.

City Councilor Edward Alesna, chairman of the committee on budget and appropriation, said the pay of the JOs will not be drawn from the personal services, otherwise this will violate some provisions of the Department of Budget and Management and the Local Government Code. Instead the JOs' salary will be sourced from the maintenance and other operating expenses allocation.

In a separate interview with The Freeman, City Administrator John Yre de los Reyes however said what they were asking was only intended for the executive department.

John Yre said Villarante could not prevent the executive from hiring JOs because the mayor knows what he has been doing for the department.

"Amo ra gi-ask ang what is due under sa executive department. Ang executive maoy nasayod kay sila ang mo-implement. Ang gi-ask ni Mayor JVR nagbasi ra sa Annual Investment Plan, hence the request is within the limits not beyond the budgetary," John Yre said.

John Yre clarified that the mayor did not ask for additional JOs, but only wanted the council not to slash the budget because the plans of the executive will be direly affected.