Mayor Arthur Salalila, of Santa Rita town, confirmed over the weekend the "impending termination" of the local government's job order (JO) employees.
In his social media post, the mayor cited a “drastic” budget cut to the General Services Fund as the reason for the decision.
In an official statement issued by the mayor’s office, Salalila expressed “deep regret” over the development, calling it an “unavoidable” outcome of a major reduction in their operating budget.
“This difficult decision is a direct result of the significant reduction in the budget allocated to the General Services Fund,” the mayor said.
According to Salalila, the original proposed budget for the fund, which covers the salaries of JO employees, was ₱8,222,240.
However, members of the Sangguniang Bayan slashed the amount to just ₱224,240.
“The Sangguniang Bayan, in their official statement, declared that certain programs, including those funded by the General Services Fund, were considered ‘unnecessary and unimportant,’” the mayor added.
Salalila said he exercised his veto power over the first approved budget in a bid to preserve funding for the JO employees.
He added that the "JOs" are important in maintaining garbage collection, health services, and administrative support in the municipality.
“This action was taken with the sincere hope of achieving a reasonable budget adjustment that would allow JO personnel to continue working,” the mayor said.
However, the Sangguniang Bayan overruled the veto, rendering the second version of the budget final and executory.
“Consequently, the municipality can no longer provide salaries for our Job Order employees,” Salalila stated. “It is with a heavy heart that we announce the termination of their contracts due to the unavoidable lack of funds.”
The mayor also addressed public suggestions to redirect funds from the town’s team building and capacity-building programs to cover JO salaries, but said it was not legally allowed.
“Although the municipal administration desires to rehire our JO employees, we are legally prohibited from using funds from other programs for this purpose,” the mayor explained. “Each municipal program has a designated budget allocation, and these funds cannot be transferred without proper endorsement and a rigorous process requiring clear approval from the Sangguniang Bayan.”
Salalila assured the public that his office is “actively exploring all possible ways” to address the looming manpower shortage.
“We are wholeheartedly committed to finding a sustainable solution and sincerely ask for the community’s understanding and continued support during this challenging time,” he said.