Acting Cebu guv 'no power to fire employees'

CEBU CITY (Updated 3:17 p.m.) -- Representative Pablo John Garcia (3rd district, Cebu) said Wednesday that Acting Cebu Governor Agnes Magpale has no authority to fire or hire Capitol employees.

Under the Local Government Code, Garcia said Magpale in her acting capacity cannot renew, hire or fire employees of Cebu province.

Magpale on Wednesday fired Provincial Treasurer Roy Salubre by asking the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) to replace him due to lack of trust and inaccuracies in his financial report.

In a press conference Wednesday morning, Magpale also announced the renewal of the contract of casual employees and two-month extension for the outsourced manpower.

She also created a team to evaluate and prioritize the province's expenses considering the millions in payables against the limited funds of the province.

"I want to have people I can trust and rely. I lost my trust and confidence in him (Salubre)," Magpale said.

In reaction to Garcia's claim, Magpale said that is the reason why she is writing the BLGF on her request to replace Salubre.

Salubre, in a separate interview, said he will submit to Magpale's wishes and will step down once he receives the order from the BLGF.

The acting governor also wanted the BLGF to conduct a cash examination of the province's finances.

This is after Salubre allegedly provided an inaccurate report on the province's finances, especially on the budget pertaining to the Capitol employees' bonus.

The Provincial Board allocated and approved P50.8 million for the Christmas bonus after Salubre reported that the province has around P90 million cash available. The funds for the bonus, however, were not yet released.

The acting governor threatened to fire Salubre last month when the provincial treasurer failed to report to her despite several calls for his appearance.

Salubre eventually reported to her before the deadline set for his appearance. (Sunnex)