Bishops back Robredo order to punish chronic absenteeism

MANILA, Philippines—Some Catholic bishops on Monday expressed support for Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo’s directive to impose punishment on local chief officials who have shown chronic absenteeism.

Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo said a monitoring mechanism to check on the attendance of mayors in their respective offices was a “good yardstick” by which the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) can measure their performance as public servants.

“It’s a proper measure so that they can do something about those mayors who are habitually absent,” said Lagdameo, also a former president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines over Church-run Radio Veritas on Monday.

Lagdameo was reacting to Robredo’s directive for provincial governors to set up a system that would monitor the attendance of mayors in their offices and provide information on officials who are always absent.

Robredo, in giving the order, reminded all mayors that they were expected to render “full-time service” and to devote time to the performance of their official duties. They were also expected to desist from practicing professions other than the exercise of their official functions, said the secretary.

He also gave provincial governors the green light to punish or file appropriate charges against habitually absent mayors.

But the senior prelate on Monday stressed that before imposing punishment on erring mayors, the DILG must give them room to explain.

“[The DILG] must first know their reason for being absent because these mayors might be doing something good for their constituents that require them to be outside their offices most of the time,” said Lagdameo.

Tagbilaran Bishop Leonardo Medroso echoed Lagdameo’s opinion, saying he favored Robredo’s directive but there must first be a consultation conducted among the stakeholders.

“Before [the DILG] issue a decree or order or policy, they must hold a dialogue first so that they can talk about it thoroughly and so that the mayors will also be given a chance to raise their view on the matter,” said Medroso, also on Radio Veritas.

The bishop also said he believed that it was just right to implement such mechanism to ensure that local chief executives were fulfilling their duties as government officials. “It is also appropriate to impose punishment on mayors who are not doing their jobs,” said Medroso.