Sunday, July 08, 2007 Mandaue dads want to have say on hiring of casuals
WITH each branch wanting to have a say, the re-appointment of around 2,000 “program personnel” has caused a rift between Mandaue City’s executive and legislative bodies.
Though “purely an executive function,” Vice Mayor Carlo Fortuna said guidelines, including a City Council approval, should be set in re-employing those workers.
Speaking for Mayor Jonas Cortes, lawyer Briccio Boholst said they will come up with such rules soon.
“I believe we have a common objective, to hire those who are competent and efficient in their respective field of expertise,” he said.
The city council wants a “rationalized hiring policy” that will govern the hiring of employees and renewal of contracts.
Last Friday, it passed two resolutions stating that until such policy is complied with, no new funds for salary would be passed and no processing of new appointments would be made.
In response Boholst said, “I don’t want to speculate that they are using these (measures) for their own political agenda.”
Fortuna said they were just straightening out the process, as that was how it should be done.
But Cortes felt that the two measures already encroach into executive functions, said Boholst.
He said Fortuna and the council should not forget that their function is purely to legislate and draft laws.
Approval banned
On the resolution banning the approval of new allocations for salaries, he reminded the legislators that the previous council last January allocated a budget of up to December this year.
The program employees’ appointments, on the other hand, were only up to June 30.
And, Boholst added, the power to hire new employees and renew contracts is primarily vested on the executive department.
Fortuna agreed, but said hiring standards must be approved first by the council.
Boholst, though, said that under the law, personnel allocation must not be beyond 45 percent of the annual budget.
“Why prevent the mayor who wishes to comply with the law?” he said.
The lawyer said Cortes intends to hire new personnel to replace the inefficient ones whose contracts just expired.
As examples, Boholst cited finance department employees he met last Friday who failed to regularly post financial statements, the last of which was made last February yet.
“Wa kuno’y makamao mo-post og wa’y makamao mogamit og (No one reportedly knew how to use Microsoft) Excel (computer program),” he said.
In that meeting, he told the employees that Cortes has not terminated the services of anyone and that there were those who stopped working because their contracts already expired last June 30. (OCP)
