Courtesy resignations due in Cebu City Hall

Department heads in Cebu City Hall will be asked to submit courtesy resignations to give Mayor Michael Rama a free hand to choose who will run the 22 key offices.

A reliable source said one department head and another ranking official have already prepared their letters.

Their names are being withheld until the letters are filed.

The pending action is part of a sweeping review of city government personnel and bodies to enable Mayor Rama to choose people he trusts.

When Cebu Daily News asked Rama about this last night, however, he said, “No, I haven’t talked with them.”

The courtesy resignation is not officially required, and will not be mentioned in any memo but the source said the exercise would let the mayor know who he can count on.

The “loyalty test” was expected after the mayor announced recently he would assess all positions in City Hall, particularly the heads of 50 commissions and various consultants.

The timing also coincides with the approach of June 30, the end of one year since Rama exited as vice mayor and started his first term as Cebu City mayor.

For a start, two City Hall employees and a former member of the Mayor’s Management team (MMT) were transferred as part of the “housecleaning.”

The three employees who requested anonymity said they received their appointment papers from Rama yesterday.

Two will be re assigned to the City Treasurer’s Office. The former MMT member will go to the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO).

The MMT is a pool of management trainees formed in the past administration of mayor Tomas Osmeña.

Rama dismantled the team upon his assumption as mayor.

The mayor is reportedly conducting a loyalty check on all 5,000 City Hall employees, including 22 department heads and all City Hall consultants.

The mayor said he wanted to make sure that he is not “sleeping with the enemy” and that he needs to watch his back.

Rama formed a five-member committee to review the performance of each department and commission head.

Osmeña, who had been at odds with the mayor, said Rama’s loyalty checks are purely politicking. Correspondent Fatrick Tabada