NEEDS P3.7M BUDGET | Mayor says he did not commit to pay for 660 BSKE support staff

Kabankalan City Mayor Benjie Miranda said Monday, November 13, that he has not pledged or committed to pay for the 660 unpaid support staff hired in the locality during the recently concluded Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections.

Miranda said that the city election officer has asked for his help in paying for the personnel they hired during the BSKE but he did not promise anything especially that it entails a budget amounting to P3.7 million.

"We are trying to look for a legal basis for them to get paid," the mayor said.

He said the Commission on Elections (Comelec) admitted that they were at fault in hiring these people

"We are not saying that we are not going to help but the city government has no budget for it," he pointed out.

Each support staff is entitled to P5,500 each as an honorarium for the services they rendered.

Provincial election supervisor Ian Lee Ananoria said there is an ongoing investigation into the incident in Kabankalan City.

Miranda said such a situation is happening not only in Kabankalan City but also in two other localities which he refused to reveal.

The budget for the teachers' honoraria who served in the BSKE  has been paid by Comelec.*