THE Cebu City Human Resources and Development Office (HRDO) is preparing contract renewals for the City’s 2,962 casual employees, anticipating an extension of their service under the administration of mayor-elect Nestor Archival.
HRDO Head Henry Tomalabcad said on Monday, June 16, 2025, the preparations are based on Archival’s prior pronouncement that the retention of casuals would depend on the city’s financial capacity.
Tomalabcad said the budget for casuals for the entire year has already been allocated.
However, the final decision on whether or not to retain the casuals would still depend on Archival’s assessment of the City’s financial capacity, Tomalabcad said.
The HRDO is now in the process of preparing the necessary documents, including the printing of appointment papers.
“The HR (Human Resources) just prepared beforehand. We just assumed that all casuals will be retained because that was his pronouncement before... He said his condition is the financial capacity (of the city),” Tomalabcad said in a mix of Cebuano and English, referring to Archival’s earlier statement about retaining casuals if the budget would allow.
However, similar preparations have not been made for the City’s estimated 2,668 job order (JO) personnel whose contracts are also about to end on June 30.
Tomalabcad said he had met with Archival and his transition team once, but no specific requests have been given to the HRDO regarding personnel matters.
While the HRDO already provided Archival’s transition team with the number of regular, casual and JO employees, Tomalabcad could not provide the exact figures due to ongoing resignations and retirements.
He said the team was also furnished copies of the organizational structures of each department.
With less than two weeks before the new administration takes over, Tomalabcad said he anticipates that offices directly attached to the mayor will be the most affected, as elected officials typically bring in their own staff.
Personnel of city councilors will also be impacted by the change in leadership.
He estimated that over 70 offices are attached to the mayor’s office, including various special bodies, councils and committees, affecting more than 300 employees.
Outgoing Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia provided a breakdown of the City Hall workforce as of May 26, 2025: 1,582 regular employees, 2,962 casual employees, 2,668 job order personnel and 187 coterminous staff.
The fate of the 2,962 casual and 2,668 job order employees now largely rests on the financial review and final decision of the incoming Archival administration. / JPS