THE salaries of Capitol’s job order workers and contractual employees, including doctors working in the provincial and district hospitals, have been increased, an official said on Thursday, Jan. 31.
In Executive Order 1-2019 issued on Jan. 16, Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III ordered the implementation of the fourth tranche of the salary increase for doctors working in provincial and district hospitals and the third tranche of salary increase for other job order workers and contractual employees working for the Province starting Jan. 1.
In an interview, Provincial Budget Officer Danilo Rodas said the increase of salaries for doctors working for provincial and district hospitals is due to the increasing competition between public and private hospitals.
“Our purpose is to get competent doctors that will not leave our hospitals for better pay. Our hospitals really need more doctors. Majority of doctors working in the public hospitals would often leave because of the low pay-grade,” Rodas explained.
Saying doctors are very important to the provincial and district hospitals, the Provincial Health Office recommended increasing their salaries, especially since they don’t receive any benefits or bonuses from the Capitol.
Under existing laws and regulations, there is no employer-employee relationship between contractual employees and the Cebu Provincial Government, leaving them without the benefits received by regular and casual employees.
He said they decided to increase the salaries of doctors working for the Province so they can receive the same rate as doctors in private hospitals.
There are around 1,600 job order and contractual employees working for the Capitol.
The salary adjustment will be charged to the Province’s annual budget.
Meanwhile, the Provincial Treasurer’s Office (PTO) has lowered its annual income target this year.
For this year, the PTO is aiming to collect around P3.9 billion, lower than the P4.3 billion income collected last year.
Provincial Treasurer Roy Salubre told reporters they expect that their income targets last year would increase, as they anticipate the sale of the Cebu International Convention Center to the Mandaue City Government.
Salubre considers the P300 million proceeds from the sale of the CICC as “extraordinary income” by the Province.
Though their income targets are lower than last year, Salubre is confident they can still exceed their targets due to the continuous selling of properties, whose owners have not been paying their obligations.
Salubre said that since December, they have been conducting auctions of delinquent real properties in the towns of Liloan, Asturias, Balamban and Tuburan. (JKV)