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Friday, September 19, 2003
Rift between mayor, employees unresolved
ANGELES CITY -- Some rank-and-file employees of the City Government entered into their second day of protest actions Thursday, despite appeals to the contrary, to force Mayor Carmelo F. Lazatin into paying them their alleged overdue GMA bonus.
A former regional director of the Civil Service Commission, lawyer Anicia Marasigan de Lima, appealed Wednesday to the employees to lift their picket.
De Lima promised workers she would seek an audience with Lazatin in their behalf and convince him to give in to the demand of city employees to allocate funds for their GMA bonus of P5,000 and other benefits provided in the Collective Negotiating Agreement (CNA) they signed with the city in 2001.
But 80 officers and members of the Association of Government Employees for A New and Dynamic Angeles City (Agenda) said they would not break up their picket until Lazatin promised to release their bonus and other benefits.
The group also denounced attempts Wednesday by policemen and firemen to break up their ranks as they were marching toward the City Hall main gate.
Councilor Louie Reyes, chair of the City Council committee on labor, has promised to conduct an inquiry into the reported violent dispersal of protesters by policemen.
Raise funds
De Lim met with department heads for four hours Thursday and later informed protesters that city officials promised to cough up funds from their remaining allocations to raise P7.2 million for the GMA bonus of workers.
She said she is confident that Lazatin would approve the release of the funds.
"I'm making this commitment at all cost and I am willing to take all the risks. I will move heaven and earth to ensure that Mayor Lazatin will finally agree to sit down with you and agree to release your GMA bonus and other benefits," she assured Agenda members.
Wilfredo Tiotuico, city accounting department head, told protesters they were willing to sacrifice their remaining appropriations even if this was prohibited under the law.
Accompanying de Lim and Tiotuico when they talked to protesters were Vice Mayor Ricardo Zalamea, Human Resources Management Officer Elizabeth Lagman, City General Services Officer Ismael Pamintuan, City Health Officer Dr. Joven Esguerra, City Social Welfare and Development Officer Heide Patio, and City Budget Officer Fe. T. Corpuz.
Ma. Isabel P. Ruiz, Agenda president, said the protest actions would continue until Lazatin committed to pay them their GMA bonus.
She added the pickets would only stop if Lazatin released the bonus three days after announcing he would do so.
Services sacrificed
Several aides of the mayor said that since last December up to this day, the city could barely get by on its revenues, much less raise sufficient funds to pay the employees their bonuses.
In addition, they explained, the executive order mandating the granting of the GMA bonus specifies that local governments may give this subject to availability of funds.
If the city is forced to pay the GMA bonus, the salaries of many employees involved in several social development projects started by the Lazatin administration and benefiting thousands of people, mostly the urban poor and other underprivileged sectors, will be sacrificed.
In letters to the CSC, Lazatin assured Consolacion Santos, CSC regional director, that he had wished to release the GMA bonus and other benefits of the workers.
This was, however, not possible because in 2002, the city realized a surplus amounting to only P520,000.
Another condition set by Agenda was the inclusion of a representative of Courage, an umbrella organization of unions of workers in government service, in the negotiating table.
Agenda demands
De Lima agreed to support and endorse all the demands of Agenda, which includes the non-filing of administrative cases against protesters while negotiations are ongoing, except that of getting a Courage representative included in the negotiating panel.
To give this privilege to Agenda will result in conflict with unions in other government agencies whose request for a Courage representative in negotiations were denied, she added.
Courage may instead give advise to the Agenda before the negotiations, she pointed out.
On the reported violent dispersal of protesters, Reyes said the Council inquiry would include Chief Insp. Emmanuel G. Nunag, Angeles City Police Station 3 chief, and the policemen involved in the operations.
"Hindi ba nila alam na kayo ang gumagawa sa budget na ibinibigay sa pulis para magkaroon sila ng mga bagong motorsiklo at iba pang kagamitan?" Reyes asked. (Don't they know that you make the budget so that the police could get new motorcycles and equipment?)
Reyes said that police officers, as fellow public servants, should remember that even government employees have the right to assemble and exercise their constitutional right to seek redress to their grievances. Sun.Star Pampanga
(September 19, 2003 issue)
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