Suspended city worker questions order

BACOLOD City Population office clerk Teresa Lozada questioned the suspension order for 60 days imposed by Mayor Evelio Leonardia against her and their OIC Gilnena Flor Lozada.

The order was effective January 11, 2013.
Leonardia, through lawyer Joselito Bayatan, found a prima facie case against the two Lozadas for serious dishonesty and grave misconduct due to questionable entries in the biometric Daily Time Records.

Bayatan cited glaring discrepancies, markings and erasures on her biometric DTRs for June 2012.

Lozada said they were still on the process of adjusting to the new biometric system but all those that have blank entries and even the half-days of her late reporting to office were duly deducted from her official leave credits while entries, which were initialed by her direct superior were cancelled and were not used to process her payroll.

It was a form of harassment on her part to be assigned at the public cemetery, which started when she, being a union official, pushed for the granting of the Employees Enhancement Incentive bonus.

Despite the fact that it was against her will to follow the order, she reported at the Handumanan city public cemetery for a year. She even used tombs as her working table.

She exhausted all administrative remedies by filing cases against the mayor. She asked the investigating committee to dismiss the case for lack of utter merit.