NEARLY 22 days before Christmas, the Cebu City Council still needs to convene a budget hearing next week to hear from the city treasurer whether funds are available for the proposed P35,000 bonus for regular and casual employees as well as elected officials, and P10,000 gratuity pay for job order (JO) personnel.
In a phone interview on Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023, City Councilor Noel Wenceslao, committee on budget and finance chairman, said the council will convene a special session on Monday, Dec. 4, to request for a budget hearing.
“For sure naa jud tay mahatag (we will be able to give something), but as to the P35,000, dili ko maka-assure ana kay (I cannot assure that since) it needs a collective decision from the council,” he said when asked if the proposed amounts will be granted.
The Cebu City Government has 1,345 regular, 3,000 casual and 3,000 JOs. It will need at least P182,000,000 for the bonus and the gratuity pay.
He said that after the budget hearing he will come up with a committee report that the council will deliberate.
He said there will be only one budget hearing because the matter is considered urgent and necessary. The proposed measure will no longer go through the usual three readings, but will be subject to a final deliberation.
In a letter dated Nov. 20 addressed to Acting Vice Mayor Donaldo Hontiveros and signed by Acting Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia, the latter asked for the prompt passage of the ordinance establishing and instituting the grant of gratuity pay to JO.
Citing Article 107 of the Local Government Code of 1991, Garcia emphasized the power of the local chief executive to determine what matters will be considered urgent including among others, any legislative matter such as, but not limited to, ordinances and resolutions.
Garcia also cited several Department of the Interior and Local Government opinions, and the case of Malonzo v. Zamora (G.R. No. 37718, 27 July 1999) wherein the court pronounced that there is nothing in the law which prohibits the three readings of a proposed ordinance to be held in just one session day.
Citing also Article VIII of Administrative and Regulatory Ordinances, Garcia highlighted that “no ordinance shall be considered for final deliberation unless it has been reported out by the proper committee to which it was referred or certified as urgent by the city mayor.”
According to Wenceslao, both the resolution for the P35,000 bonus and the ordinance for the grant of gratuity pay are considered urgent matters.
In previous interviews, Garcia said an ordinance has to be passed first before the City can grant JOs an incentive, explaining that the City does not have an employer-employee relationship with JOs, which is why the latter are not entitled to any special perks like bonuses.
In his proposed ordinance for the grant of gratuity pay, Garcia specified the amount of money the JOs will receive according to their years of service.
JOs who have served less than two months will receive an amount not exceeding P1,000. Those serving more than two but not more than three months will receive an amount not exceeding P2,000. Those serving more than three but not more than four months will receive an amount not exceeding P3,000. For those serving more than four but not more than five months, the amount will not exceed P4,000. Finally, for those serving more than five months, the amount will not exceed P5,000.
In 2018, during the time of former mayor Tomas Osmeña, around 5,000 regular and contractual City Hall employees only received P10,000, while around 3,000 JO employees received P2,000.
In 2019, during the time of the late mayor Edgardo Labella, the employees’ Christmas bonus doubled to P20,000.
However, during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, the City chose to only give P10,000.
In 2021 and 2022, the City returned to granting P20,000 Christmas bonus to its regular and casual employees.