ABOUT 130 job-order or contractual workers of the Manila City government may soon expect the release of their salaries after the city council’s regular session on Tuesday.
Despite numerous initial concerns and queries from District 3 Councilor Mary Grace R. Chua regarding the nuances of the resolution, the P13,926,120 budget allocated for the salary of additional manpower in Manila’s Office of the Senior Citizens’ Affairs (Osca) for the entire year was approved on first reading.
Chua earlier expressed concerns over the number of the current staff at Osca, the amount of money available for their pay and the qualification of job-order employees.
District 1 Councilor Ernesto G. Dionisio, who discussed the resolution on the floor, answered each query, but struggled to supply some of the data requested, such as Osca’s staff count and the available balance for the yearly account of the maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE).
Council Presiding Officer and Vice Mayor Shiela H. Lacuna-Pangan interjected, requesting Dionisio to be more prepared and bring all necessary documents in future sessions. She also asked if the proposed budget is to be applied retroactively, to which Dionisio responded yes.
“These job-order employees have been in service since January, and the proposed budget of P13,926,120 is already for the whole year, January to December 2017,” Dionisio said.
This means a number of government staff have been performing duties in the city government for almost six months now, without certainty of compensation.
Lacuna-Pangan manifested her worries about cases of job-order employees’ not receiving due compensation in other agencies, and said she does not want the same situation to befall employees of the Manila City government.
When Majority Floor Leader Casimiro C. Sison motioned for the approval of the resolution, a round of applause filled the session hall, prompting Lacuna-Pangan to remind the audience clapping is not allowed inside the hall.
In the same session, the council also approved the use of the SAF-MOOE in the amount of P39,600,000 for the salary of additional manpower to augment the current staff of Manila’s NGO Program Secretariat.