Osmeña to fire over 100 casuals

CEBU CITY — When outgoing Mayor Alvin Garcia leaves City Hall on June 30, more than a hundred casual employees will have to pack up.

Mayor-elect Tomas Osmeña said only a handful of the 134 casuals hired during Garcia’s term will be retained when he assumes office.

Osmeña said only 15 employees will work under his office.

"Casual employees from the mayor’s office will be cleared out first," he told reporters in a press conference at his residence the other day.

According to Osmeña, many of the 134 casual employees are not assigned to any department and are listed only as utility workers.

Osmeña suspects that most of them are just loafing around City Hall during office hours and were hired out of political patronage.

"I bet these people are not doing anything there. What are they doing in the mayor’s office, building a bridge?" he said.

Casuals belonging to the city’s Cleanliness Action Team, which was created pursuant to an ordinance approved during Garcia’s term, will also lose their jobs as Osmeña plans to disband the group. — Freeman News Service