THE Cebu City Government announced it will reimburse City Hall employees for official uniforms that were paid for but never delivered during the previous administration.
Mayor Nestor Archival said the Human Resource Development Office (HRDO) is finalizing a cash refund scheme to compensate workers who had P4,000 deducted from their allowances earlier this year.
Archival assured the current administration is resolving the issue to restore trust and protect employee welfare after the contracted supplier failed to fulfill the order.
The controversy resurfaced this week after Councilor Pastor “Jun” Alcover Jr. delivered a privilege speech questioning why City Hall deducted uniform payments from employees’ salaries even if not a single garment was released.
Alcover said at the start of 2025, qualified personnel were granted a P7,000 clothing allowance under national guidelines.
From this, P4,000 was automatically deducted in the first quarter as advance payment for city-issued uniforms, but no uniforms were delivered even months later.
Alcover said the delay not only undermines employee morale but also raises accountability concerns, especially for workers whose contracts were not renewed by midyear and may now have no chance of receiving either the uniforms or refund.
He sought a full explanation from the HRDO regarding the procurement status, timelines, and remedies for affected personnel.
Responding to Alcover’s speech, Archival clarified that the procurement in question did not happen under his administration.
He said the supplier contracted during the previous term failed to deliver the uniforms, leaving his administration the task of addressing the problem.
“The uniforms were ordered not under my term, and unfortunately, the supplier did not deliver,” Archival said.
“We cannot allow employees to keep waiting for entitlements that were never fulfilled,” he said.
To resolve the issue, the HRDO and the City Treasurer’s Office have begun coordinating to implement a reimbursement scheme.
Employees will receive the cash equivalent of the uniforms, an option officials say is the most practical and compliant with procurement laws, given the failed delivery and the lapse of the original contract.
City Hall expects the refund mechanism to be finalized soon.
Archival said the settlement is intended to not only compensate employees but to also close a long-running issue that has spanned two City administrations and to reinforce stronger oversight in government procurement. / CAV