THE ordinance granting the P15,000 Charter Day bonus only needs the Cebu City Council’s approval in the third and final reading before it can be released to more than 5,000 employees.
Around P67 million is needed to pay employees’ bonuses, City Councilor Noel Wenceslao said on Tuesday, March 28, 2023.
Wenceslao, chairman of the committee on budget and finance, said the amount will be taken from the city’s 2023 annual budget.
The City Council, which is dominated by allies of Mayor Michael Rama, holds its regular session every Wednesday.
Rama had pleaded with the City Council to approve the ordinance quickly, saying that the workers, especially those who are in need, shouldn’t have to wait any longer.
He even cracked a joke that the elections would soon be conducted in 2025.
“Naaprobahan na ninyo? Wa pa? Paspasi ninyo hapit nang eleksyon. (Have you approved it or not? Hurry up. The election is coming). Do a special session. Come on. Why you can’t do that? The poor cannot wait, think about it. In favor of the poor, in favor of the employees, we must be effective and efficient. Kon wala mo mag-hunahuna ana (If you are not thinking about that), 2025 is the day of reckoning,” Rama said during the flag-raising ceremony on Monday, March 27.
Councilors Edgardo Labella II, Jose Abellanosa and Francis Esparis, who attended the ceremony, agreed that the ordinance granting the bonuses should already be approved. (PAC, TPT)