ALL’S well that ends well.
They may have lost their allowance from the Cebu City Government, but they will soon be getting it back, retroactive from January this year.
For the director of the Cebu City Police Office, that’s, well, let’s do the math, shall we?
He, or she—at this point I don’t know who’ll be getting the stipend considering that Col. Gemma Vinluan was relieved pending the investigation of the fatal ambush of Clarin, Misamis Occidential Mayor David Navarro. Navarro was killed in broad daylight on Oct. 25, 2019. He was on his way to the Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office for the inquest proceeding after his arrest on allegations of hitting a massage therapist and asking a masseuse for a handjob while he was in Cebu City on Oct. 23. He was escorted by members of the Abellana Police Station when the incident happened.
So where was I? Oh yes, that’s P8,000 per month times 12 equals, hmm, P96,000. Now, for the assistant director, that’ll amount to P72,000. For the rank-and-file, that’ll be P30,000.
Not bad, considering that’s on top of their regular salary and whatnot.
SunStar Cebu reporter Jerra Mae Librea’s report said Mayor Edgardo Labella had also promised to turn over 200 sacks of rice to the CCPO and help the latter build police stations.
Looks like somebody hit the jackpot.
Let’s put it this way. If you’re a sanitation engineer for the Cebu City Government, you get your monthly salary plus benefits because that’s what you’re entitled to, according to your contract. But in addition to that, you get an additional monthly allowance from an outside source.
Well, they should be so lucky. But never mind that, they’re getting a P20,000 Christmas bonus from City Hall, anyway.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying the police don’t deserve the stipend. Oh who am I kidding?
Just look around you. The illegal drug trade remains rampant. High-profile murders remain unsolved. What else? Heck, they can’t even keep the sidewalk in front of their police station free of obstruction despite a presidential directive.
It’s not like they haven’t gotten a raise since Rodrigo Duterte took over Malacañang because they have. And I’m not saying they don’t deserve it. Theirs is not an easy job. I’m not questioning that.
But why use taxpayers’ money to provide an allowance to someone who’s already getting paid by the taxpayers to serve and protect them. Isn’t that double compensation?
At any rate, it may be remiss in delivering some basic services, but the current administration surely knows how to take care of its men and women in blue.
Anyway, somewhere out there, Helena must be grinning from ear to ear.