OCD may lay off 200 employees

OCD Director Alexander Pama. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—On the verge of the expected string of disasters, the Office for Civil Defense could lay off 200 of its employees, majority of which are stationed in the main office in Camp Aguinaldo.

Undersecretary Alexander Pama, Administrator of OCD, said Monday that the agency might fire some of its workers due to the government’s plan to cut down expenses.

“We can’t continue our operations if we don’t have a source of our funds, and we are on a straight path, we’ll do with what we have,” Pama said.

Pama said that he hopes that the layoff would not happen, yet he would still oblige with what the government plans.

“If we reach that point, it’s very unfortunate, they are all contractual employees,” Pama said. “In all fairness, the government is still looking after us and are looking for ways on what to do for the laid off employees.”

Even with the possible lay off of the 200 employees, Pama remains optimistic that the government would still come up with ways to save those who would be cut.

OCD’s layoff plans come after the agency’s heightened operations on disaster preparedness with the “new normal,” pertaining to stronger typhoons.

Earlier this month, Pama said that the public should assume that future typhoons would be stronger than ever.

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