Toledo City workers to hold protest rally for unpaid salaries

Toledo City government employees will be holding a rally in front of their City Hall today to protest the continued non-release of their salaries due to having “two mayors.”

Risa Rafols, Toledo City Tourism Officer, said regular employees have not received their salaries for one 15-day cycle while casual and job order (JO) employees have been waiting for their salaries for four to five months now.

Rafols said the delay was caused by the confusion as to who will sign the release of funds since Cebu’s southwestern city currently has two sitting mayors.

Two mayors

Mayor John Henry “Sonny” Osmeña and Vice Mayor Antonio Yapha Jr. both claim to have authority over the mayoral position.

Osmeña was slapped a one-year suspension by the Office of the Ombudsman in the Visayas for grave abuse of authority for withholding the real property tax share of Barangay Daanglungsod since the third quarter of 2014.

However, the Court of Appeals overturned the Ombudsman’s ruling, prompting Yapha to step down as acting mayor and turnover the position back to Osmeña.

But the Ombudsman filed a motion for reconsideration (MR) on the appellate court’s decision.

Maria Loisella Lucino, the acting director of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG-7), said in previous interviews that the suspension order should stay while there is a pending motion.

But Osmeña refused to vacate his office saying the MR has been denied by the CA last September 4.

Give way

Rafols said today’s rally is a call for Yapha to give way to Osmeña.

“Duna na man nay decision sa Court of Appeals and niingon si Dr. Yapha nga manaog siya kung duna nay letter from DILG. Pero maayo nga monaog na lang siya voluntarily aron di na mag-antos kami nga nagtrabaho ra,” Rafols said.

Cebu Daily News tried but failed to contact Yapha last night. His staff, however, said that the vice mayor is only waiting for the order from the DILG and is very willing to step down as acting mayor.

Rafols also called on the DILG-7 to serve the order reinstating Osmeña as mayor to put order back at City Hall.

Rafols added that ordinary workers should not suffer from the conflicts among their local leaders.