Villarante warns JOs: Drop protest plan or it will backfire

CEBU, Philippines - Talisay City Vice Mayor Romeo Villarante has urged the job order workers who are planning to stage a protest rally against them on Tuesday morning outside the session hall to reconsider their move or "it will backfire to them."

Villarante, the council presiding officer, said he was not threatened after Mayor Johnny De los Reyes announced he will issue a permit for the job order employees's planned protest. The JOs are protesting the slashing of the budget by the executive department.

"Gigamit ra gyud sila ug wala sila masayod sa ilang pagpahigayon unya sa rally. Wala man ta mahadlok," Villarante said as he challenged the De los Reyes administration to release the exact number of his confidential employees who are being paid P500 a day.

Job-hire employees are covered by job orders to do a specific job for a particular project, but they do not have an employee-employer relationship with the city government.

The salary rate for job order workers depend on the number of days they render work per week. Those who work for five days a week receive P300 per day; for six days, P253.84 per day; and seven days, P220 per day.

Villarante, who urged the job order workers not to blame him and members of the City Council for their plight, showed to The Freeman an initial copy of the payroll that contains the list of confidential employees who are receiving P500 a day.

Of the list, Villarante said the administration of De los Reyes are being flooded with close to 10 relatives and not six as what the latter is claiming.

"In my initial list, it's more than 10. Sige lang gyud na siya og pamakak," Villarante said.

Villarante, the former ally of De los Reyes, said that his relatives who are confidential employees includes – Clifford De los Reyes, Dorcel De los Reyes, Jackie Lou De los Reyes, Jim De los Reyes, Richardlie De los Reyes, Johnson Joy Pagusan and Jo Fred Siasico.

But Mayor De los Reyes, however, said the vice mayor is only trying to evade the issue of budget slashing by imputing and bringing back the issue of confidential employees who are his relatives.

"Wala na gyud siya'y laing issue? Moingon pa siya nga daghan ko gipa trabaho sa City Hall gikan sa Sindangan, mo-ingon siya nga linibo kuno? Asa naman nang linibo iyang giingon?" De los Reyes said.

De los Reyes said his detractors will not stop from criticizing his administration because of their interest to unseat him come 2016 mayoralty election. —  (FREEMAN)