THE verdict is in.
Regular and casual employees of the Cebu City Government will not be receiving a P35,000 Christmas bonus this year, while job order (JO) employees will not be getting a P10,000 gratuity pay.
That’s what the City Council decided when it approved the ordinance authorizing the second supplemental budget amounting to P337.9 million during its regular session on Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023.
Instead, regular and casual employees will receive P20,000, while JOs will get P5,000.
Funding sources
City Councilor Noel Wenceslao, committee on budget and finance chairman, said they were only following the National Government, which recently announced that it would give employees in the executive branch a P20,000 bonus, and P5,000 gratuity pay.
Based on the ordinance, P187.8 million of the approved supplemental budget will come from the general fund, while P150 million will come from special accounts.
The Cebu City Government has 1,345 regular employees, around 3,000 casual employees and elected officials, and the gratuity pay of around 3,000 JO employees.
With the adjusted amounts, the City will only need P101.9 million for the yearend cash incentives. It didn’t say what it will do with the other P236 million.
Complaint
During the session, City Councilor Jocelyn Pesquera said that some of her staff have been harassed by other City Hall employees because of her stance against the original bonus amount.
Although she did not provide specific details about the nature of the harassment, she said it was never in her power to approve or disapprove the proposed bonus.
Whether she agreed with it or not, it was still a matter that was subject to a council discussion and decision.
“It is so unfair on my part. I don’t know who started the rumor that Joy Pesquera is not approving the bonus and that’s precisely (why) they did not receive the bonus because of me,” she said.
Pesquera said she will let her staff file a complaint with the Human Resource Development Office for bullying and harassment, if it happens again.