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Tuesday, December 16, 2003
600 DPWH workers face termination
By Harley F. Palangchao
BAGUIO -- It will be a sad Christmas for more than 600 casual workers of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), who will be terminated from service effective Dec. 31.
The workers, many of whom were with DPWH-CAR for almost ten years, received their walking letters last month, it was learned from one of the affected workers.
But DPWH Regional Director Antonio Purruganan denied allegations that the move was a mass lay-off. He explained that casual employees would still be accommodated by the same office but on a job-order basis.
The workers are scattered in the provinces of Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga and Mt. Province.
Purruganan said the DPWH-CAR, composed of nine districts, is left with no option but to terminate the employees when the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) stopped remitting funds for the salaries of the workers since August.
He also explained that it would be a burden on the part of the DPWH-CAR to shoulder the Government Service Insurance Services (GSIS) remittances of the affected workers. "GSIS has a policy that casual employees cannot be regular members of the insurance office."
Citing the lack of fund for affected workers, Purruganan revealed DPHW-CAR also has no budget allocated for next year's infrastructure projects. He said the only available fund for the province would come from the expected countrywide development fund (CDF) of the May election winners. The fund is pegged at around P38 million.
"Likewise, our office has no money for infra projects in Baguio," he said.
The impending termination of the DPWH-CAR workers will be added to the increasing number of unemployed Filipinos.
It was reported that the country's unemployment rate rose to 12.7 percent in July this year, which was described by many quarters as a great blow to the administration of President Arroyo.
Last month, Arroyo vowed she would generate job opportunities for at least 100,000 Filipinos during the remaining months of her administration.
(December 16, 2003 issue)
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