OVER 200 Cebu City Hall employees may have to spend Christmas without extra cash.

This is after the City Accounting Office asked all employees to first secure a certification from the City Attorney’s Office Employee Management Committee on Inquiry (EMCOI) before processing their documents for the yearend bonus and cash gifts.

“This is in connection with the provision in the Local Budget Circular No. 65 that exempts employees with pending administrative cases from receiving yearend bonus and cash gift,” stated the communication received by the different City department heads last week.

Most of the employees with pending cases with the EMCOI are from the Department of Engineering and Public Works (DEPW), Department of Public Services (DPS), and the Department of Social Welfare Services (DSWS).

Non-remittance

Most offenses are the non-remittance of business tax payment, willful failure to pay just debts, negligence in the performance of duties, habitual absenteeism, absent without official leave, misconduct, and conduct grossly prejudicial to the best interest of the service.

Other infractions are disgraceful and immoral conduct, incompetence, violation of reasonable office rules and regulations, non-attendance of flag ceremony.

In an interview, lawyer Joseph Bernaldez, EMCOI chairman, told Sun.Star Cebu that under Civil Service Commission rules, government employees facing administrative cases will not receive a yearend bonus.

“If an employee has a pending case, it will affect (his) entitlements. I understand the employees are required to secure a certification. For our part, as long as a case is not yet resolved, there is still the presumption of innocence,” he said.

He said the certification may have been made a requirement because of non-payment of debts that has affected the Bayanihan Multi-purpose Cooperative, whose members are City Hall employees.

Last Oct. 22, the City Council authorized the City Budget Office to release the second half of the yearend bonus and cash gift for City Hall officials and employees.

The bonus and cash gift will be released today after the City Council said they should be given “not earlier than November 3 but not later than November 15.” (RHM)

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