Anniversary bonus dim for Cebu City Hall employees
WITH only two City Council session days left, the likelihood of Cebu City Hall employees receiving their anniversary bonus appears dim.
The proposed supplemental budget of Mayor Michael Rama wasn’t included in the City Council’s agenda for today’s session.
Cebu City marks its 75th Charter Day on Feb. 24. The council has two sessions left before the mayor’s target date of releasing the anniversary bonus.
Rama’s proposed supplemental budget (SB) 1 includes the appropriation for the bonus.
He wrote the council last Friday about the outlay but council secretary Cynthia Kahulugan refused to receive the mayor’s budget letter because it lacks a breakdown and attachments.
As of 2 p.m. yesterday, she said the mayor’s office has yet to submit documentary attachments for SB1.
“We can no longer wait for it because we have to furnish councilors with a copy of the agenda,” she said.
With this, the extra budget won’t be discussed in today’s council session.
As a House rule, outlays more than P50,000 should not be discussed as “other matters” in the agenda.
Mayor Rama said he still could not determine the amount of his SB1, which depends on the availability of savings computed for 2011, and the amount of anniversary bonus for the city’s about 5, 000 regular and casual employees.
City budget officer Nelfa Briones and treasurer Ofelia Oliva said they are still finalizing the accounting for total 2011 savings to be used as fund source for SB1.
The extra budget includes outlays for garbage truck repairs and logistics needs of the Public Services Office.
The council passed a P5.2-billion budget for this year, less than half the original requested budget.
Vice Mayor Augustus Joy Young earlier said he was “okay with a bonus if funds were available but that the council wants to be clarified about the mayor’s priorities because his department heads keep lamenting about budgets being reduced by the legislature.
Rama said he always watches out for welfare benefits of workers.
“I’m a labor management practitioner. Part of the employment activities are the bonuses,” the mayor said.Chief of Reporters Doris C. Bongcac
