TWO local legislators in Cebu City are criticizing each other over the issue of job order (JO) workers in Cebu City Hall.
Councilor Alvin Dizon, in a budget hearing on June 4, 2021, recommended that instead of hiring more JO employees, the department heads should maximize the availability of regular and casual employees in their offices.
Dizon brought this up after the budget presentation of the Department of Social Welfare and Services (DSWS) for its proposed first supplemental budget for the year 2021.
The DSWS alone has 1,667 JO workers.
Dizon recommended to DSWS officer-in-charge Portia Basmayor that instead of hiring and allocating a budget for the salaries of the JO workers, the budget can be used to augment the budget of social services and other essential programs in the city.
“The City Government is not an employment agency,” Dizon said during the budget hearing.
Councilor Raymond Alvin Garcia, budget and finance committee chairman, noted the recommendations of Dizon during the budget hearing.