MANILA, Philippines — The Quezon City government has regularized 254 more employees, who have been working as contractual workers in the city hall for over 20 years.
According to the local government, these employees gained regular employee status after hurdling hearings before the Human Resource Merit Promotion and Selection Board (HRMPSB).
Mayor Joy Belmonte earlier ordered the acceleration of the city’s regularization processes as well as the periodical regularization of city hall employees starting 2019, fulfilling her pledge to provide job security in the local government.
One of the employees granted regular status was 55-year-old Barangay Pasong Tamo teacher Precy Linag, who worked as a contractual employee for 22 years.
Linag said that in the last 20 years of working for the city government, she has received a monthly salary of P5,000 to P10,000, which has been barely enough to make ends meet.
She added that it was only during Belmonte’s term that her salary was increased to P13,000 after the local chief executive signed a memorandum raising the salaries of contractual employees to a “livable” rate.
Now a regular employee, Linag recounts how this has long been a dream of hers.
“Excited po ako na sa wakas mararanasan ko na ang maging permanent employee. Matagal ko na itong pinapangarap (I am so excited that finally, I will become a permanent employee. I’ve dreamt of this for so long),” Linag said in a statement released Wednesday by the Quezon City government.
(I am so excited that finally, I will become a permanent employee. I’ve dreamt of this for so long.)
Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte. Photo by Ryan Leagogo/INQUIRER.net
According to Ronald Tan, officer-in-charge of the Quezon City Human Resource Management Department (HRMD), among the recently regularized were Linag and 30 other city hall employees who were working as contractual for at least 9 years but with short-term renewable contracts that denied them the security and benefits of regularized employees.
“The delay in the regularization of some of our employees may be attributable to the fact that the previous administration conducted screening and regularization only at the end of their term,” said Tan.
Aside from the security of tenure, the newly-regularized government personnel will receive fringe benefits, a 13th-month bonus, a performance-based bonus, and allowances, among others.
“The time has come for QC to depoliticize appointments and promotions and adhere to meritocracy,” Belmonte said, emphasizing that her administration abides by merit and fitness as determined by HRMPSB.
“We ought to give our deserving and hardworking city hall employees the security of tenure and all entitlements prescribed by the law. And we hope that this will motivate them to become more productive civil servants,” she added.
Members of HRMPSB include first- and second-level employee representatives while Belmonte and Vice Mayor Gian Sotto serve as appointing authority and chair for the city’s Executive and Legislative Departments, respectively.
Other members of the board include the heads of departments, Majority Floor Leader of the Quezon City Council Franz Pumaren or his authorized representative, Minority Floor Leader Eric Medina or his authorized representative, Chairperson of the Sangguniang Panlungsod Committee on Civil Service, Appointments, and Reorganization, and the Head of the HRMD.